Teddy McCarthy

Block quoteThe Bold Teddy Mac

Just once in the history of our Gaelic games has a man won the double you must know his nameHe’s from the rebel county just cast your mind backAnd you’ll see the strong frame of the bold Teddy Mac

ChorusOh Teddy oh Teddy oh Teddy so boldYour achievements in history will forever be toldIn the year 1990 yes Teddy won twoAll Ireland medals McCarthy Abu.

In the hurling ‘gainst Galway he played a great part He wasn’t found wanting with passion and heartHe stood up and was counted when they needed a scoreThree times he obliged and the rebels did roar.

Chorus

In the football the green shirts of Meath he did meetBut Teddy did revel when the battle did heatHe soared to the sky so that God would take note Of a promise to Teddy that he would win both.

Chorus

He now has a record that no one will crackHe’s Cork’s double legend the bold Teddy MacNow in the history books out on his ownWith a hurley or football his feats are well knownChorus

By Gerry Kelly (086-8596659)

Infobox GAA dualplayer
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Teddy McCarthy
irish = "Tadgh Mac Cárthaigh"
fullname = Teddy McCarthy
placeofbirth = Glanmire
countryofbirth = County Cork
dyear=
dday=
dmonth=
height =
nickname = Teddy Mac
county = Cork
province = Munster
club = Sarsfield's
clpositionh = Midfield
clpositionf = Midfield
clubs = Sarsfield's
Glanmire
clyears = 1980s-1990s
1980s-1990s
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Cork (F)
Cork (H)
icpositionh = Midfield
icpositionf= Midfield
icyears = 1985-1995
1986-1996
icapps(points) =
icprovincef = 6
icprovinceh=1
icallirelandh= 2
icallirelandf =2
allstarsf=1
allstarsh=0
clupdate =
icupdate =

Teddy McCarthy (born 1965 in Glanmire, County Cork) is a retired Irish dual player. He played hurling with his local club Sarsfield's and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1986 until 1996. McCarthy also played Gaelic football with his local club Glanmire and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1987 until 1995. He is the only player in the history of the Gaelic Athletic Association to have won senior All-Ireland medals in both codes in the same year.

Biography

Teddy McCarthy was born in Glanmire, County Cork in 1965. One of a family of eight he was educated locally in Glanmire. McCarthy’s talent as a hurler was recognised at a young age and when he was fourteen he was drafted into the North Monastery team that played in the Dr. Harty Cup hurling competition. McCarthy alter worked as a sales rep for Beamish and Crawford. He also ran his own pub.

McCarthy was convicted of drink-driving and is currently disqualified from driving. He was also sentenced to jail but this has been appealed successfully.Charges of possession of narcotics with intent to supply were also dropped against McCarthy after several key witnesses refused to testify against him in court.

Playing career

Club

McCarthy played his club hurling with his local Sarsfield's team and his club football with the local team in Glanmire. Effectively they are the same club, however, they are known by different names for each code. He enjoyed little success with these clubs in the respective county championships, however, McCarthy also lined out with the Imokilly divisional football team. As a member of this team he collected senior county titles in 1984 and 1986.

Inter-county

McCarthy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a footballer at underage levels for Cork. He won a Munster title at minor level in 1983 following a defeat of Tipperary. McCarthy later lined out in the All-Ireland minor final, however, Derry emerged victorious by just two points.

McCarthy later ‘graduated’ onto the Cork under-21 team where he enjoyed much more success. He missed Cork’s victory in the Munster final of 1984, however, he came on as a substitute against Mayo in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Cork won that game by 0-9 to 0-6 giving McCarthy a coveted All-Ireland medal. 1985 saw McCarthy add a Munster under-21 medal to his collection following an eleven-point trouncing of Clare. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw McCarthy play at centre-forward against Derry. ‘The Rebels’ avenged their defeat at minor level two years previously by beating Derry. It was McCarthy’s second All-Ireland under-21 medal. In 1986 Cork continued their provincial dominance. A narrow win over Tipperary gave McCarthy his second Munster under-21 medal. He later played in a third successive All-Ireland final in that grade with Offaly providing the opposition. The game was a one-sided affair as the Cork team were the easy winners on a score line of 3-16 to 0-12. It was McCarthy’s third consecutive All-Ireland under-21 medal.

By this stage McCarthy’s hurling skills had been noticed by the Cork selectors and he was named as a substitute on the Cork senior team for the 1986 Munster final against Clare. Cork won on that occasion making it five-in-a-row of Munster titles, however, McCarthy never came off the bench. Following that victory he went on holidays and missed Cork’s All-Ireland semi-final against Antrim. ‘The Rebels’ were less than convincing in that match and McCarthy was surprised on his return to Ireland to find out that he was to make his championship debut in the All-Ireland final against Galway. Galway were the red hot favourites to take the title and defeat Cork for the first time in a championship decider. The pundits and commentators got it wrong as an open game of hurling saw Cork score 4-13 to Galway’s 2-15. A four-point win gave Cork the title and gave McCarthy his first senior All-Ireland hurling medal.

In 1987 McCarthy was a firm fixture on both the Cork hurling and football teams. The hurlers surrendered their provincial crown to Tipperary; however, the footballers were just beginning a remarkable run of success. After a draw and a replay ‘the Rebel’s broke Kerry’s stranglehold on provincial football with a 0-13 to 1-5 victory. It was McCarthy’s first senior Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork play Meath for the first time in twenty years. Cork stormed into an early lead, however, it was Meath who led by a point at half-time. The second half saw Larry Tompkins kick six of his eight frees wide, resulting in a 1-14 to 0-11 defeat for Cork.

1988 saw McCarthy collect a second Munster medal with a narrow 1-14 to 0-16 win over archrivals Kerry. Cork later qualified for their second consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final with Meath providing the opposition once again. Cork stormed ahead after just three minutes when McCarthy scored the only goal of five consecutive All-Ireland final appearances for Cork. Meath fought back and secured a 0-12 to 1-9 draw. The replay proved to be a tough, controversial affair with Meath reduced to fourteen men with the sending off of Gerry McEntee. In spite of being outnumbered Meath still won the game by 0-13 to 0-12.

1989 began well with McCarthy playing a key role in helping Cork to claim the National Football League title. He later added a third Munster medal to his collection following another win over Kerry. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Mayo play Cork in a unique pairing. Cork were on top for much of the game, however, a goal by substitute Anthony Finnerty gave Mayo a brief lead. Mayo failed to score for the last nineteen minutes as McCarthy took over and gave a masterful display at midfield. Cork held on to win the game by 0-17 to 1-11. It was McCarthy’s first senior All-Ireland football medal, an honour which made him the fifteenth player to be a dual All-Ireland medal winner. More personal honours were to follow when he was presented with a coveted All-Star award. McCarthy also became the second layer from Cork to be presented with the prestigious Texaco Footballer of the Year title.

1990 proved to be a memorable year for McCarthy and for Cork. A key member of the senior hurling team, he missed Cork’s victory over Tipp in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship final. He also missed the Munster football tie as Cork trounced Kerry by 2-23 to 1-11. The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final that year pitted Cork against Galway for the second time in four years. In spite of missing out on the provincial hurling final McCarthy lined out at midfield in this game. Galway were the bookies favourites and justified this tag by going seven points ahead. Cork fought back with an expert display by Tomás Mulcahy and went on to win a high-scoring and open game of hurling by 5-15 to 2-12. It was McCarthy’s second All-Ireland hurling medal and he first half of a remarkable double was competed. Two weeks after this victory McCarthy was back in Croke Park playing in the All-Ireland football final. Old rivals Meath were the opponents on this occasion as the two sides met for the third time in four years. Once again the game was a close affair with Cork’s Colm O'Neill being sent off. In spite of being reduced to fourteen men Cork won the game by 0-11 to 0-9. The Double was done and McCarthy wrote his name in the history books by adding an All-Ireland football medal to the hurling medal he won two weeks earlier.

In 1991 Cork surrendered both of their provincial crowns to Tipperary in hurling and to Kerry in football. The following year McCarthy tasted more success with the Cork hurlers. In spite of already having two All-Ireland medals in that code he had yet to win a Munster hurling medal. All that changed in 1992 when he came on as a substitute to help Cork defeat Limerick by 1-22 to 3-11. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Kilkenny provided the opposition. ‘The Cats’ played against a strong wind in the first half and were only two points down at the interval thanks to a goal by D.J. Carey. Further goals by John Power and Michael Phelan gave Kilkenny a 3-10 to 1-12 victory.

In 1993 McCarthy added to his already impressive medal tally. The start of the year saw him collect a National Hurling League title following a three-game saga with Wexford. Cork’s hurling championship hopes later ended on their first outing. In spite of this McCarthy captured a fourth Munster football medal as Tipperary fell heavily in the provincial final. Another All-Ireland final appearance beckoned as Derry provided the opposition. The game was yet another close encounter; however, a late goal won the day for Derry who secured a 1-14 to 2-8 victory.

The defeat in the All-Ireland final was avenged somewhat in 1994 as Cork defeated Tipperary in the provincial football final. McCarthy came on as a substitute in that 2-19 to 3-9 victory to collect a fifth Munster medal. Unfortunately, Cork were later defeated by Down in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final.

In 1995 Cork were still the kingpins of Munster football. Kerry were defeated easily by 0-15 to 1-9 with McCarthy coming on as a substitute once again to collect his sixth and final Munster football winners’ medal. The All-Ireland semi-final was a similar situation to the previous year as Dublin defeated Cork by 1-12 to 0-12.

This was McCarthy’s last big occasion with the Cork footballers. He continued playing with the senior hurling team in 1996, however, Cork were defeated by Limerick for the first time in seventy-five years at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. This defeat brought the curtain down on McCarthy’s inter-county career.

Provincial

McCarthy also played with Munster in the inter-provincial football competition. He lined out with his province on a number of occasions, however, he never collected a Railway Cup medal.

International Rules

McCarthy also played with Ireland in the International Rules series of games in 1986. He made one appearance for his country in the third meeting of Ireland and Australia, however, he was sent off after scoring a great point. Ireland went on to win the three-game series nonetheless.

Teams

External links

* [http://www.sarsfields.ie Sarsfield’s Hurling Club Website]