Your A to Z guide ahead of the first-ever Tipperary versus Cork All-Ireland hurling final!

The A To Z All-Ireland Hurling Final Tipperary v Cork 2025

By Liam Hogan 

READ NEXT: MEET THE PLAYERS! See the Tipperary panel who are one game away from glory this Sunday!

All-Ireland semi-final. Tipperary defeated Cork in the 2014 All-Ireland Senior hurling semi-final. This was the second meeting between the sides outside of Munster championship fare as of ten years earlier, Cork beat Tipperary in the All-Ireland qualifiers at Killarney on July 10. 

Ballina’s Michael Breen, plus Ronan Maher, Jason Forde, and Seamus Kennedy are eyeing up a third All-Ireland win. The four players were successful in the 2016 and 2019 finals.

Cashel of the Kings are represented by Eoghan Connolly. Connolly scored 0-3 against Kilkenny in the semi-final. The Cashel club has a great footprint in players involved in the final, the three Bonners and Pater O’Sullivan, who played in the 1971 final victory over Kilkenny. Carrick Davins had winners Mick Roche (1964, ‘65 and ‘71) and PJ Ryan in 1971.  

Defiant leaders brought home the Cup, Tadgh O’Connor 1971, Declan Carr 1989, Bobby Ryan 1991, Tomas Dunne in 2001 and Eoin Kelly 2010. 

Eight times when teams from the same province meet in the All-Ireland final, when Tipp face Cork on Sunday. The previous seven include Tipperary v Clare 1997, Kilkenny v Offaly 1998, Kilkenny v Offaly 2000, Cork v Clare 2013, Limerick v Waterford 2020, Limerick v Cork 2021, and Cork v Clare 2024. 

Four Game Run: Cork have scored impressively as they secured three of the last four championship meetings from 2022 to 2025, as the last four games show. In total, the Rebels lead the Premier 15-106 (151 pts) to 4-94 (106 pts), a lead of 45 points.  

Goalkeeping Tradition: Rhys Shelly follows the footsteps of Brian Hogan, Darren Gleeson, Brendan Cummins, and Ken Hogan in starting an All-Ireland final for Tipperary.

High Winning margins have become the norm in recent times, with Cork winning by twelve points in 2022, 18 points in 2024, and 15 in 2025. We have to go back to 1965 when Tipperary gave Cork an 18-point lesson following a 4-11 to 0-5 win in the Munster final before we go way back to 1896 when Tipp defeated Cork 7-9 to 2-3 in a Munster final replay played at Jones Road, Dublin.

Irresistible: To watch re-runs of old Tipperary v Cork games, starting with the 1987 Munster final and replays, as well as the 1991 Munster final and replay. Four great videos.  

Jake Morris is Vice Captain, and along with Sam O’Farrell, the Tipperary twin attackers hope to join Barry Heffernan, Michael Heffernan, and Mick Burns as Nenagh players who have All-Ireland senior medals.  

Killarney hosted three very important games with Tipperary involved. In 1937, Tipperary beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland hurling final held at Fitzgerald Stadium. In 1987, the famine came to an end when Richard Stapleton led Tipp to Munster final victory over Cork in a replay and two ten-minute periods of extra time. Then, in 2004 qualifier that Cork won with ease.

Long run stretches to twenty years since Cork last won the All-Ireland senior hurling final. In 2005, Cork defended their title to beat Cork. Tipperary had an 18-year run without success from  1971 to 1989, when they defeated Antrim in the final. Nicky English scored a record 2-12 that day. Could that record be beaten on Sunday?  

Munster finals: Next Sunday’s finalists met in 37 Munster finals, with Tipperary winning 17 and Cork successful in 16, and there were four draws. 

Noel McGrath hopes to win his fourth Celtic Cross on Sunday, having collected his first three in 2010, 2016, and 2019. If successful, the Loughmore man and Tipp captain wins, he will join John Mackey McKenna, also on four. Seven players have five, including Mickey Rattler Byrne, Michael Maher, Tony Wall, Kieran Carey, Theo English, Donie Nealon, and Liam Devaney. Jimmy Doyle has 6 and John Doyle is top man with eight. 

Oireachtas Hurling Finals have favoured Tipperary playing Cork in three finals. On October 23rd,1960, Tipperary beat Cork 4-11 to 2-10 at Croke Park in front of 34,000 supporters. They met again in 1968, which ended on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-16 at Thurles, and two years later it was Tipp 1-12 Cork 0-8. Tipperary won the competition 11 times in its 60-year history, the same as Galway. Other winners included Kilkenny (10), Wexford (9), and Cork (5). 

COLUMN: Parallels with the 2018 U21 success can’t be disregarded ahead of historic senior final

Pat Fox was man of the match in the 1991 All-Ireland win over Kilkenny. 

Qualifiers: Since 1997, nine teams have been beaten once in the championship, but have depended on the qualifiers to win the All-Ireland final. Could Tipp do it a third time after success in 2010 and 2019? The nine so far include Offaly (1998); Cork (2004), Tipperary (2010), Kilkenny (2012), Clare (2013), Limerick (2018), Tipperary (2019), Limerick (2023), Clare (2024). 

Referee Liam Gordon will be the fourth Galway man to officiate in an All-Ireland senior hurling final. In 1930, Stephen Jordon officiated in the final when Tipperary beat Dublin 2-7 to 1-3. In 1938, Ignatius Harney was the man in charge of Dublin’s 2-5 to 1-6 win over Waterford. Tipperary were back in the final in 1949 when they defeated Laois 3-11 to 1-3 in the final as MJ Flaherty took charge. Fifteen years later, it was Tipperary overcoming Kilkenny 5-13 to 2-8 as Aubrey Higgins was the man with the whistle. 

Seamus Callanan was the last Tipperary winning captain as Tipperary beat Kilkenny in the 2019 final. 

Triple Crown: With the National hurling league and Munster final titles already in the cabinet, the dream of the Triple Crown could be complete if Cork succeeds in winning the All-Ireland senior hurling final on Sunday. The Rebels have done it twice before in 1926 and 1953. Tipperary have fared much better in 1949, 1950, 1961, 1964, 1965, and 2001. Kilkenny top the list with eight.  

Underage Finals: The 2018 All-Ireland U21 Hurling final saw Tipperary defeat Cork at Gaelic Park, Limerick. The following year, the U20 final replaced the U21 grade, and Tipperary defeated Cork in the final at Limerick once more. 

Various Clubs: The dream of every club is to have a player winning an All-Ireland medal. Toomevara have a long list of players, and now they have Darragh McCarthy, who follows the footsteps of Tommy Dunne and Matt Hassett, two all-Ireland winning captains for the blue and gold. Roscrea club is famed in All-Ireland hurling final history, and Alan Tynan follows the footsteps of Francis Loughnane and Tadgh O’Connor, who led Tipperary to victory in the 1971 final against Kilkenny. Kilruane MacDonaghs are represented by Craig Morgan, whose uncle Seamus Gibson lined out at left corner back in the 1987 Munster final win over Cork at Killarney.  Len Gaynor and Eamon O’Shea are other stalwarts of the club. Holycross continues their historic fame as Bryan O’Mara fills the left half-back position filled onetime by the great John Doyle. Speaking of the name Doyle? There’s Robert Doyle Tipp’s right corner back who represents the famous Clonoulty Rossmore club, where two-time All-Ireland winner (1989 and 1991) Declan Ryan comes from.  

Winning Sequence: Tipperary’s longest winning sequence in championship hurling was seven wins from 1958 to 1968. Cork had a shorter winning run of six from 1976 to 1985. 

X factor: St Finbarr's players Brian Hayes operates at left corner forward, and the Cork star surely on the shortlist for player of the year, and he continues the great tradition of the famous Cork North City club, which produced the great Jimmy Barry Murphy.

Years ending in five have not been too kind to Tipperary. There were eight meetings, with Cork winning five to three for Tipperary. The eight encounters are as follows: (1905) *Cork 2-3 Tipp 2-4; (1915) Cork 4-0 Tipperary 3-1; (1925) Tipperary 5-3 Cork 5-1; (1945) Tipperary 2-13 Cork 3-2; (1965) Tipperary 4-11 Cork 0-5; (1985) Cork 4-17 Tipperary 4-11; (2005) Cork 1-21 Tipperary 1-16; (2025) Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24. 

N.B. * Cork objected and the replay was not played as Tipperary failed to turn up for the game.

Zero goals occurred in just two of this unbelievable rivalry. The first occasion was in the 1900 Munster quarter final (played on the 4th of November 1901) at Shandon Grounds, Dungarvan, which Tipperary won 0-12 to 0-9. The second occasion was in recent times, May 22nd,2016, at FBD Semple Stadium when Tipperary were comfortable Munster quarter-final winners 0-22 to 0-13.  

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