The 1967 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was a Gaelic football match played at Croke Park on 24 September 1967 to determine the winner of the 1967 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the 81st season of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champions of the four provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Cork of Munster and Meath of Leinster, with Meath winning by 1–9 to 0–9.
Match Summary The All-Ireland SFC final between Cork and Meath was a unique occasion, as it was the first-ever championship meeting between the two teams. Cork were appearing in their first final in over a decade, while Meath were lining out in their second successive All-Ireland SFC decider.
The first half was a dour, tense affair riddled with mistakes. Cork surged ahead into a three-point lead, while Meath only registered one point in the first half after being held scoreless for 27 minutes.
In the second half, Meath were a transformed team. In his column in The Irish Times, Paddy Downey wrote: "Their second half transformation was so unexpected that it seems incredible. Nevertheless, it was a rally which for grit and guts and spirit surpassed anything I have seen in a final." Six minutes after the restart, Terry Kearns slipped unnoticed behind the Cork backline to punch Matt Kerrigan's centre to the net from 5 yards out. Inexperience cost Cork. Their last-minute goal chance was pulled back because Con O'Sullivan's short free to Flor Hayes was deemed too short by the referee.
Meath's All-Ireland SFC victory was their first since 1954. The win gave them their third title over all and put them joint eighth on the all-time roll of honour, along with Mayo, Louth and Cork.
Peter McDermott of Meath, also known as "the man in the cap" and a winner of All-Ireland SFC medals with the team in 1949 and 1954, was coach of the 1967 winning team.
Cork's defeat was their third at this stage since their last All-Ireland SFC victory in 1945. They previously lost All-Ireland SFC finals in 1956 and 1957.
Details
1Seán McCormack2Mick White3Jack Quinn4Peter Darby (c)5Pat Collier6Bertie Cunningham7Patrick Reynolds8Peter Moore9Terry Kearns10Tony Brennan11Mattie Kerrigan12Mick Mellett13Paddy Mulvany14Noel Curran15Ollie ShanleySubstitutes:16Paddy Cromwell17Martin Quinn18Oliver Geraghty19Peter Black20Mick O'Brien21Austin Lyons22Dave Carty23Jimmy Walsh24Pat Rooney25Pat Bruton26Murty Sullivan27Gerry QuinnTrainers: Peter McDermottFr. Patrick Tully1Billy Morgan2Brian Murphy3Jerry Lucey4John O'Mahony5Frank Cogan6Denis Coughlan (c)7Kevin Dillon8Mick Burke9Mick O'Loughlin10Eric Philpott11Gene McCarthy12Bernie O'Neill13Éamonn Ryan14Con O'Sullivan15Flor HayesSubstitutes:16Jim Downing17J.J. Murphy18Johnny Carroll19John Crowley20Jerry O'Sullivan21Tom BerminghamTrainer:Donie O'Donovan
Aftermath Meath subsequently toured Australia for some early examples of international rules football. Meath played five Australian state sides and won them all, producing a combined score of 26-43 to 3-29.
References