John Horgan

Blackrock fought back and a Ray Cummins goal in the 24th minute helped to level matters at the interval.

Charlie McCarthy completed his hat-trick to give St. Finbarr's the lead early in the second half, however, Blackrock's youth and fitness were key in securing a 2-19 to 5-4 victory.

Not only was it Horgan's first championship medal but he also had the honour of collecting the Seán Óg Murphy Cup as captain.

Due to the unsporting manner of the contest the Cork County Board later fined the two teams a combined total of £30 and suspended five players, including Horgan, for a period of two months.

This suspension had little impact on Blackrock's subsequent Munster Championship campaign, with Horgan being reinstated by the time his side faced Moyne-Templetuohy in the provincial decider.

An impressive 4–10 to 3–1 victory gave him his first Munster medal.

John Horgan (25 May 1950 – 10 June 2016) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Cork senior team spanned twelve years from 1969 to 1981.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game and as one of the most iconic Cork players of all time.

Born near Barrack Street on the south side of Cork city, Horgan was introduced to hurling by his father, a county junior championship medal winner with Blackrock.

From three successive All-Ireland final appearances he won one All-Ireland medal in 1967.

He developed his skills at Sullivan's Quay CBS while simultaneously coming to prominence at underage levels with the Passage club, before transferring to Blackrock in 1968.

Horgan went on to enjoy a hugely success career over the course of the next decade, becoming the only player to captain a team to three All-Ireland victories.

He also won five Munster medals and five county senior championship medals.

Horgan made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he was picked on the Cork minor panel.

Horgan began his club hurling career with Passage West, however, after a largely unsuccessful juvenile and underage career he transferred to Blackrock in 1968.

Horgan made his senior debut for Cork in the Grounds Tournament in 1969, before later becoming a regular on the team during the 1969-70 league.

Over the course of the next decade his blonde hair and his long, sweeping clearances from corner-back, made Horgan a cult hero in Cork.

He subsequently progressed onto the Cork under-21 team, winning back-to-back All-Ireland medals in 1970 and 1971.

He won his first All-Ireland medal in 1970 before winning three championships in-a-row from 1976 to 1978.

Horgan also won six Munster medals and four National Hurling League medals.

Between 1971 and 1980, Horgan lined out for Munster in six inter-provincial championship campaigns.

Horgan was just 21-years-old when he was chosen by his peers to captain the Blackrock senior team for the 1971 championship campaign.

It was a successful campaign which led to the Rockies qualifying for their first county final in eight years.

St. Finbarr's were the opponents and took a strong 2-0 to 0-2 lead after just eight minutes.

A torrential downpour before the game made conditions very difficult and tempers boiled over with Simon Murphy and Charlie Cullinane being sent to the line.

Blackrock subsequently qualified for an All-Ireland final meeting with rathnure on 14 May 1972.

The Leinster champions were in arrears by twelve points at one stage, however, they launched a stunning comeback to cut the deficit down to one point.

Blackrock stubbornly held on to secure a 5-13 to 6-9 victory.

Not only was Horgan's first All-Ireland medal but he also had the honour of receiving the cup as captain.

As captain of the team in two separate championship campaigns, he also collected three All-Star awards between 1974 and 1978, while he was named Hurler of the Year in 1978.

He won two Railway Cup medals in 1976 and 1978.

In retirement from playing Horgan became involved in team management and coaching.

His death was the first from Cork's 1976-1978 All-Ireland-winning three-in-a-row team.

Horgan played his last game for Cork in June 1981.

After coaching the Blackrock senior team during their unsuccessful 1982 championship campaign, he took a complete break from hurling for over a decade.

In retirement from playing he has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at left corner-back on the Club Hurling Silver Jubilee Team in 1996 and the Supreme All-Stars team in 2001.

Horgan returned as coach of the Douglas and Castleyons senior teams, guiding the latter to their first championship semi-final appearance in 2001.

Horgan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most popular club and county hurlers of his era.

Horgan was also chosen as one of the 125 greatest hurlers of all time in a 2009 poll.

After battling illness for several years, Horgan died on 10 June 2016.