Cork defeat Dublin in All-Ireland hurling decider

Dublin, 22 September 1919 - Cork brushed aside the challenge of Dublin to win the All-Ireland hurling final on a scoreline of 6-4 to 2-4 in Croke Park yesterday.

Although Dublin opened the scoring when, facing the sun, they converted a free for a point, it was Cork that set the pace, charging into a lead that saw them 4-2 to 1-1 up by the half-time interval.

Full of speed, dash, good striking in attack and strength in defence, the Cork display was, as one observer put it, among the ‘best ever witnessed in Croke Park’.

An artist's impression of some of the incidents of the game. (Image: Irish Independent, 23 September 1919)

The crowd in Croke Park topped 20,000 and while, in the absence of special trains, the vast majority of this number were residents of Dublin, the celebratory scenes at the end suggested a large contingent from Cork.

Support for the rebel county was no doubt boosted by the fact that the team, which trained specially for this final in Youghal, was drawn from 10 clubs. Dublin, in contrast, looked no further than the Terenure headquarters of the Collegians club.

The All-Ireland final occasion was, on and off the field, admirably managed, though members of the press indicated afterwards that they will need to be better accommodated if games are to be accurately recorded.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]