Passage G.A.A. Club Hall of Fame - Justin McCarthy
It would be difficult if not impossible to argue with the assertion that Justin McCarthy was the greatest
hurler ever produced by the Passage Club.
Justin stylish play at under age level marked him out as a player for the future and after a short spell with
Rochestown who he represented on the Cork Minor Hurling team of 1963.He returned to Passage in 1964 and
immediately started to show exceptional qualities which did not go unnoticed by various Cork selection committees.
He was selected at mid-field in the first ever Cork U-21 hurling team which lost to Tipperary. He later
played a key role with the Cork Intermediate hurling team which won the Munster championship. His form
subsequently led to his promotion to the senior team, which lost to Tipperary in the Munster Final. In
1965 he was joined on the U-21 and senior panels with his club mate Eddie O'Brien but provincial success eluded both panels.
1966 was certainly Justin's most memorable year as a player when his late goal from a free earned a draw
against Clare and was probably the most significant single shot in a decade in Cork hurling.
Cork went
on to record an historic success against Kilkenny when Justin brought a first ever All Ireland Senior
medal to the Passage club. The drama did not end there as the Cork U-21's had three epic encounters
with Wexford before another pair of All- Ireland medals made there way to Passage through the heroic
efforts of Justin and "Eddio".
The icing on the cake came later that year when Justin was selected as Texaco hurler of the year, the
first Cork win since Christy Ring in 1959.
1969 proved to be a year of bittersweet emotions for Justin, after having been selected at centre-back
on a superb Cork team he was now deemed by many experts at the time to be the best all round hurler in
the country an unfortunate motorcycle accident involving Justin and his Passage team-mate Joe Murphy not
alone put a temporary end to his hurling career but most certainly cost Cork an Ireland they deserved.
Through a lot of hard work Justin worked his way back on to the Cork team but a second All-Ireland medal
eluded him when Kilkenny deprived Cork of the Title in 1972.
Justin became the only Passage player to win a Railway Cup medal in 1968 and adding a second in 1969.
With his playing career severely restricted with his serious leg injury Justin turned his attention to
coaching at club and county level.
Having guided Cork to a Munster Title in1975 he then moved to coaching Clare where ironically Cork proved
the stumbling block to success.1984 saw a return to Cork where Justin shared the coaching job with Fr. Michael
O'Brien, a partnership which led the Rebels to a Centenary All-Ireland Title.
In recent times Justin's coaching activities have been with Waterford where 2 Munster titles have been garnished
in a three-year spell.