Tom Mulcahy

Thomas J. Mulcahy (10 January 1923 – 9 November 2009) was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Cork county team.

He first played for the "Barr's" club in the minor grade and collected three successive championship medals in that grade between 1939 and 1941.

Mulcahy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1941.

He won a Munster medal that year following a 4–6 to 3–3 defeat of Tipperary.

He later lined out in an All-Ireland decider against Kilkenny.

A 5–2 to 2–2 score line gave Cork the victory and gave Mulcahy an All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship medal.

In 1942 Mulcahy played in his first senior county final with "the Barr's".

Ballincollig, a team who had defeated nine-in-a-row hopefuls Glen Rovers in the semi-final, provided the opposition.

St Finbarr's made no mistake and powered to a 5–7 to 2–2.

In a changing of the guard, Mulcahy came on as a substitute for regular 'keeper Jim Buttimer to collect his first championship medal on the field of play.

Both St Finbarr's and Ballincollig met in the championship decider again the following year.

A 3–3 apiece draw, thanks to a late goal by Seán Condon, was the result on that occasion; however, St Finbarr's made no mistake in the replay and powered to a 7–9 to 1–1 victory.

It was Mulcahy's second and final championship medal.

Mulcahy made his first appearance for the team during the 1943 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement following the conclusion of the 1950 championship.

During that time he won three All-Ireland medals, four Munster medals and one National League medal.

Mulcahy was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

At club level Mulcahy was a four-time county senior championship medalist with St Finbarr's.

Mulcahy played his club hurling with St Finbarr's and had much success.

Two years later in 1943, Mulcahy took over as first-choice goalkeeper with the Cork senior team.

A 2–13 to 3–8 defeat of Waterford that year gave him his first Munster medal.

He later lined out in his first All-Ireland decider with Antrim becoming the first Ulster side to qualify for a final.

Unfortunately, the occasion got to the Glensmen as Cork built up an unassailable 3–11 to 0–2 half-time lead.

The final score of 5–16 to 0–4 gave Cork their second-ever hat-trick of All-Ireland titles while it also gave Mulcahy a first All-Ireland medal.

Three-in-a-row proved beyond St Finbarr's as Glen Rovers claimed victory in the championship decider in 1944.

Both sides lined out in opposition to each other again two years later.

Mulcahy collected a third championship medal following a 2–3 to 2–1 defeat of their north side rivals.

Twelve months later St Finbarr's put their title on the line against Sarsfield's in the county decider.

A record crowd saw "Sars" lead "the Barr's" by a single point as the game entered injury time.

They failed to clear a seventy which was flicked to the net by Jim Sargent to give St Finbarr's a 4–6 to 4–4 victory.

It was Mulcahy's fourth and final championship medal.

In 1944 Cork were attempting to capture a fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row.

No team in the history of the hurling championship had won more than three consecutive titles.

The year got off to a good start when Cork defeated Limerick by 4–6 to 3–6 after a replay to give Mulcahy a second Munster medal.

For the third time in four years Cork faced Dublin in an All-Ireland decider.

Joe Kelly was the hero of the day and he contributed greatly to Cork's 2–13 to 1–2 victory.

It was a second All-Ireland medal for Mulcahy.

Five-in-a-row proved to be a bridge too far for Cork, however, the team returned in 1946.

A 3–8 to 1–3 defeat of Limerick gave Mulcahy his third Munster medal.

Under the captaincy of Christy Ring, Cork subsequently faced old rivals Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.

While some had written off Cork's chances, they took an interval lead of four points.