Justin J. McCarthy (born 1945) is an Irish former hurler and manager. At club level he lined out with numerous club and divisional sides, while he was also a member of the Cork senior hurling team.

McCarthy enjoyed a 30-year club career, during which time he lined out with Rochestown, Passage and Shamrocks, as well as divisional sides Carrigdhoun and Seandún. As an inter-county midfielder, McCarthy won two National League titles and three Munster SHC medals, with the highlight of his career was an All-Ireland SHC victory as Hurler of the Year in 1966.

As a coach, McCarthy has been involved at club and inter-county levels over a 50-year period. He enjoyed All-Ireland IHC success with Antrim and consecutive National League victories with Clare, before coaching Cork to the All-Ireland title in centenary year in 1984. McCarthy's tenure with Waterford yielded Munster SHC and National League titles, while he ended his inter-county coaching career as Limerick manager.

Early life

McCarthy first played as a schoolboy in various competitions at the Capuchin College in Rochestown. When Bord na nÓg was formed in Cork in the 1950s, he took part in the under-14, under-15 and under-16 competitions. McCarthy first played for a Cork team in 1955 when it was arranged for a Cork altar boys selection to take on their Kilkenny counterparts in a challenge game.

Club career

McCarthy's club career spanned nearly 30 years and numerous club sides and divisional teams. He first played at adult level as a 17-year-old with the Rochestown junior team, while also earning selection to the Carrigdhoun divisional team. McCarthy transferred to the Passage club in 1964. When the club regraded to the Cork IHC, he was called into the Seandún divisional team. McCarthy later spent a spell as player-manager with the Shamrocks club, winning a South East JHC medal in 1981. He later returned to the Passage club and continued playing until 1991 when he retired after winning a city divisional junior league title.

Inter-county career

McCarthy first appeared on the inter-county scene when he was selected for the Cork minor hurling team during the unsuccessful 1963 Munster MHC campaign.^[1] He immediately progressed to the Cork under-21 and intermediate teams in 1964. McCarthy made such an impression on the latter team that he earned an immediate call-up to the senior team and made his debut in a defeat of Galway in the opening round of the 1964 Munster SHC.^[2][3]

McCarthy quickly became a regular member of the team throughout the following two seasons. He ended the 1966 season with an All-Ireland medal and the honour of being the then youngest ever Hurler of the Year after lining out at midfield in the defeat of Kilkenny in the 1966 All-Ireland final.^[4][5] McCarthy was one of a number of players from the senior team who also won an All-Ireland U21HC medal after a defeat of Wexford that season.^[6]

Cork endured two unsuccessful years after winning the All-Ireland title; however, McCarthy remained a key part of the team. He added to his medal collection with a National Hurling League title after a defeat of Wexford in the 1969 final. After winning his second Munster SHC medal following a first defeat of Tipperary in 12 years, McCarthy's preparations for the 1969 All-Ireland final came to a halt when, on the week of the game, he was involved in a motorbike accident on his way to training and broke his leg in three places.^[7] In the short-term, this meant that he had to watch the defeat by Kilkenny from a wheelchair on the sideline. In the long-term, McCarthy's injury meant that he also missed out on Cork's 1970 season, a year which saw the team capture further National League, Munster and All-Ireland honours.^[8][9]

McCarthy made his return to the Cork team during their successful 1971–72 National League campaign. He later claimed a third Munster SHC winners' medal after a defeat of Clare n the final. For the third time in four years, Cork were presented with the possibility of making a clean sweep of all the available hurling titles, however, McCarthy's side suffered a 3–24 to 5–11 defeat by Kilkenny in the 1972 All-Ireland final, having led by eight points at one stage in the second half.^[10]

McCarthy won a third National League title after a 6–15 to 1–12 win over Limerick in the 1974 NHL final. His inter-county career ended shortly after this with a defeat by Waterford in the opening round of the 1974 Munster SHC.^[11]

Inter-provincial career

McCarthy also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling competition, the Railway Cup. He first played with his province in 1967, however, Munster were defeated on that occasion by their great rivals Leinster. McCarthy was picked on the Munster team again in 1968. That year Munster overcame Leinster in the final to capture the title. McCarthy won a second consecutive Railway Cup medal in 1969 as Munster trounced Connacht by 3–13 to 4–4. This was his last outing with the province.^[12]

Early coaching career

Managing Waterford

McCarthy was appointed manager of the Waterford senior hurling team on 30 July 2001. He wasn't the only candidate nominated for the position and was initially appointed for a two-year term. He succeeded his former team-mate Gerald McCarthy as manager and beat off several former Waterford greats for the post.^[17]

McCarthy's very first championship game in charge posed quite a challenge. Waterford were drawn to play McCarthy's native county of Cork in the Munster semi-final. It was a tough assignment for the new manager, however, Waterford came through it to win by a single point. With his first victory behind him McCarthy's team subsequently lined out against reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions Tipperary in the provincial final. The game was in the balance for much of the seventy minutes with both sides being level six times in all. The last quarter saw Waterford assert themselves and they went on to win the game on a score line of 2–23 to 3–12. It was Waterford's first Munster title since 1963 and McCarthy was lauded as a hero. Waterford's next game was an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Clare. Clare were defeated in the first-round of the provincial championship, however, they reached the penultimate stage of the All-Ireland series via the qualifiers. Waterford were expected to win, however, victory went to the men from the West.

In 2003 McCarthy's side set out to retain their provincial title. Once again the team swept through Munster and reached the provincial final where Cork provided the opposition. At half-time Waterford looked on course to capture a second consecutive Munster title, however, Cork fought back in the second half to snatch a 3–16 to 3–12 victory. McCarthy's team were down but not out, however, their next outing in the All-Ireland qualifiers system ended in defeat.

In 2004 McCarthy's side marched to a third consecutive Munster final appearance following defeat in the National League final. Once again Cork provided the opposition and Waterford were out to avenge the previous year's defeat. McCarthy's side got off to the worst possible start when Cork scored a soft goal after just three minutes. The Deise settled down quickly after that and got right back into the game. The result was still in the balance up until the final second, however, McCarthy's men won on a score line of 3–16 to 1–21. The game itself is considered one of the greatest of all-time. Waterford's next outing was an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Kilkenny. "The Cats" were not as spectacular as they had been in previous seasons, however, McCarthy's side were defeated by 3–12 to 0–18.

In 2005 Waterford faced Cork in the Munster championship for the fourth season in-a-row. Once again McCarthy's team conceded an early goal, however, the result was much tighter at the end. Cork won the day on a score line of 2–17 to 2–15 and confined Waterford to the qualifiers. McCarthy's side came through the qualifiers system successfully, however, the random draw for the All-Ireland quarter-finals meant that Waterford had to play Cork for a second time. The game was less exciting than previous meetings with Cork winning by five points.

In 2006 McCarthy's side fell to Tipperary in the Munster semi-final. The qualifiers proved a happy hunting ground for Waterford as they won every one of their games in the round robin and topped the group. The men from the Deise later gained revenge on Tipp in the All-Ireland quarter-final before lining out against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. Once again the game proved to be an exciting and close affair, with neither side gaining any huge lead. Cork led with just seconds remaining in the game when Donal Óg Cusack, Cork's goalkeeper, saved a '65' from going over the bar. The sliothar was subsequently cleared, and Cork won the game by just a single point. After the game McCarthy came in for some criticism, however, the players insisted that he was the men to lead them again for another season.

The players' faith in McCarthy was rewarded early in 2007 when he led them to a National League title. The victory over Kilkenny was all the sweeter as it was Waterford's first league success since 1963. The subsequent Munster championship saw Waterford take on Cork once again. Cork were severely depleted due to the suspension of some of their key players, however, the game turned out to be another classic between the greatest hurling rivals of the decade. The score line of 5–15 to 3–18 tells its own story with McCarthy's men capturing the victory. The Munster final saw the Decies paired against Limerick. It was the teams' first meeting in the provincial decider since 1958. Justin's men showed their class in the final quarter and won by eight points. Waterford captured their third Munster titles in six years under McCarthy. McCarthy's men later faced Cork for the second time, however, the game ended in a draw after a controversial free. Waterford won the replay setting up a second meeting with Limerick. Waterford has to play a third high-profile game in two weeks, and this showed on the day when Limerick caught them on the hop and won a place in the All Ireland final. Most people believed that Waterford were unfairly treated by the system and they should have got at least two weeks to prepare for the semi-final after playing two tough games against Cork. McCarthy's men had failed at the All-Ireland semi-final stage. Once again there was some criticism of the manager, however, the players indicated that they wished McCarthy to stay on for another year. Dan Shanahan and John Mullane spoke out and publicly said that he was the only man they wanted for the job and Once again their request was granted.

In 2008 expectations were high that Waterford would retain their Munster title and challenge for the All-Ireland once again. After a disappointing National League campaign and a nine-point loss to Clare in the first round of the championship a players meeting was held where it was indicated that some of the team no longer wanted McCarthy in charge.^[18] From that another meeting with the County Board was held where McCarthy resigned as manager. McCarthy had a successful reign over Waterford and most will remember all the great games that he was involved in but will also remember the fact that Waterford never reached an All-Ireland final under him.

Managing Limerick

On 7 October 2008 McCarthy was named as the new manager of the Limerick senior hurling team.^[19] His side started the Munster Championship with a draw with Waterford, but were beaten in the replay. They then entered the Qualifier System and had wins over Wexford and Laois. They then were drawn against beaten Leinster finalists Dublin in Semple Stadium. Despite going into the game as underdogs Limerick came out 2–18 to 1–17 winners. The semi-final paired Limerick with Tipperary however Tipperary proved too strong on the day and won 6–19 to 2–07.

In 2009 following the heavy loss to Tipperary, McCarthy dropped a number of high-profile players from the training panel for the 2010 season which led to a number of other players not making themselves available. In January 2010, members of the ousted Limerick hurling panel issued a lengthy statement hitting out at McCarthy and his management team ahead of the EGM of all county board delegates. The statement highlighted their six main issues detailing back to the lack of communication in the lead up to the announcement of McCarthy's winter training panel in November 2009.^[20] A vote on McCarthy's leadership took place in December 2009, and it was decided to retain McCarthy's services as manager. His role as Limerick hurling manager came under more pressure in March 2010 as it became clear that a special county board meeting had been arranged. At the meeting on 23 March, McCarthy retained his post following a failed vote of no confidence.^[21] On 19 July 2010 McCarthy resigned as manager after his side was knocked out of the qualifiers by Offaly.

Personal life

Born in Passage West, County Cork in 1945, McCarthy was raised in a family that had a strong association with hurling. His uncles, Batt and Ger O'Mahony, played with the Young Irelands club in Boston and won the North American championship in 1934.

McCarthy began his working life as a boilermaker at the Verolme Cork Dockyard. He took up a position as Cork sales rep with Tedcastles Oil Products in 1978, before later becoming the Munster area sales and marketing manager.^[22]

McCarthy married former Miss Cork, Patricia Culloty, in Buttevant July 1972. His son, also named Justin McCarthy, has worked as a political correspondent with Today FM and RTÉ.^[23]

Career statistics

Honours

References