Plenty versatile footballers
evidenced by his selection as an All-Star at No 7 in 1975 and 1976, but the fact that he won his next four All-Stars as a forward tells its own story.
Other Kerry footballers to display their versatility at the top level over the years were John O’Keeffe and Seán Walsh, both of whom won All-Ireland medals at midfield and at full-back.
Tommy Doyle broke into Mick O’Dwyer’s team as a forward in 1979 and finished up at wingback when captaining the side to victory in 1986, while legendary goalkeeper Johnny Culloty won the first of his five All-Ireland medals as a forward in 1955.
Over the past 50 years or so, perhaps no Cork footballer has proved his adaptability in the top flight more often than Denis Coughlan of St Nicholas. He captained the team from centre-back when Cork went under narrowly to Meath in the 1967 All-Ireland final.
He was at centre-forward when they fell to eventual All-Ireland champions Offaly at the semi-final stage in 1971, and he filled one of the midfield berths on the team that finally brought the Sam Maguire to Leeside and bridged a 28-year gap in 1973.
That was obviously the apogee of Coughlan’s involvement with Cork in football, but the Munster final in 1971 against Kerry has to be a stand-out memory as well.
His omission from the starting fifteen had raised quite a few eyebrows, to put it mildly, so he was under extra pressure to deliver the goods after being sprung from the bench midway through the first-half. He rose to the occasion in tremendous style, scoring ten points and providing much of the inspiration for an emphatic win over a hotly-fancied Kerry outfit.
A member of the Cork attack that day was Frank Cogan of Nemo Rangers.
A stylish wing-back on the team that emerged from Munster against the odds before coming within a whisker of foiling Galway’s bid for a third All-Ireland on the trot in the 1966 semi-final, Cogan remained a key figure in defence when Cork filled the runners-up slot the following year.
He played his part up front in the 1971 provincial triumph, but he was back in familiar territory when Cork reached the summit in 1973, lining out at corner-back as Galway were dispatched in the showpiece.
Occupying the pivotal position in defence on that occasion was Millstreet’s John Coleman, who was forced off with an injury as the contest’s last quarter dawned.
It led to Declan Barron’s switch from centre-forward, and the Bantry Blues’ clubman did his bit to ensure the Rebels’ rearguard remained unyielding in the face of Galway’s late efforts to pull the game out of the fire.
One of the most naturally gifted footballers to play for Cork, Barron would have been at home in any sector of the pitch
One of the most naturally gifted footballers ever to play for Cork, Barron would have been at home in any sector of the pitch, but most of his many abiding displays were served up either in attack or at midfield.
His performance at centre-forward when Cork were shocked by Dublin in the 1974 All-Ireland semi-final, and at midfield in the 1980 National league final win over Kerry will certainly linger long in the memory.
Bishopstown’s Barry Coffey filled the left half forward slot when Cork came up trumps against Mayo in the 1989 All-Ireland final. He played there as well in the two final meetings with Meath the previous year.
Following the retirement of Nemo’s Jimmy Kerrigan and with O’Donovan Rossa’s Anthony Davis ruled out by injury, however, he had been accommodated at wing-back by the time rivalry was renewed with the Royal County side in the 1990 decider.
He fitted in seamlessly as Billy Morgan’s men turned the tables on Seán Boylan’s charges, who were seeking a third title in four seasons. As a result, Coffey holds the distinction of becoming the only footballer selected as a defender and as an attacker on an All-Ireland winning Cork team.
Converting backs to forwards and vice-versa doesn’t always go according to plan of course, as Cork discovered to their cost in the 1987 clash with Meath.
Because they had been involved with the local League of Ireland soccer team, Nemo’s Dinny Allen and St Finbarr’s Dave Barry, two highly talented forwards, were deemed surplus to requirements by officialdom in Cork that year.
It meant recognised defenders Jimmy Kerrigan of Nemo and Christy Ryan of the Barrs were handed attacking roles, and, after an ageing Kerry side had been dethroned in Munster, it was a case of the chickens coming home to roost when Cork’s lack of fire-power primarily proved their undoing in the All-Ireland final.