‘A sad day for Cork’ - Jimmy Barry Murphy leads tributes to hurling great Jimmy Brohan

Tributes have been paid to former Cork All-Ireland winning hurler and selector, Jimmy Brohan from Blackrock who passed away at the age of 88 on Tuesday in Marymount Hospice after being ill for some time.

Brohan was a part of the great Cork team of the 1950s, winning an All-Ireland medal at right corner back after playing in the 1954 All-Ireland semi-final against Galway before Cork defeated Wexford in the All-Ireland decider that year when Christy Ring collected his eighth Celtic Cross.

Although he didn’t play in the 1954 final, Brohan was back in Croke Park two years later when Cork again faced the Slaneysiders and in front of 83,000 fans, he saw Ring’s bid for a ninth All-Ireland medal foiled when Art Foley made a superb save to deny the Rebels.

“We could have won it, but it just didn’t go our way on the day and good luck to Wexford, they wanted it more,” said Brohan, who supplied one of his trademark long clearances for Cork forward, Paddy Barry to goal and bring the sides level entering the final quarter.

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While that was to prove Brohan’s last appearance in Croke Park in a Cork jersey, he was to savour All-Ireland success two decades later as a selector with the great Cork team that won a trio of All-Irelands in 1976, 1977 and 1978 and members of that team today paid tribute to him.

Cork dual star and member of that three-in-row side and former Cork hurling coach, Jimmy Barry Murphy of St Finbarr’s said he was deeply saddened to hear of Brohan’s passing as he knew him well from his time with the Cork hurlers in the 1970s as well as from his involvement in Cork club hurling.

“Jimmy was an absolute gentleman – he was one of the selectors with Christy Ring on our three-in a row team and he was an astute judge of hurling – he was hugely regarded by all the players on that team – they had great respect for his opinion and judgment, and he was a very fair man.

“It’s a sad day for Cork, given he was one of the last links with the great Cork team of the 50s and of course, it’s a sad day too for Blackrock because he was a real stalwart of the club as player, a selector, a mentor and more recently as club president – he gave great service to the Rockies.”

Fellow member of that three in a row team, Denis Coughlan of Glen Rovers said that like many from the Glen and the Barrs, he didn’t really know Brohan until he became involved with Cork and while he offered wise counsel from the sideline, he was also a great man to have in the Cork dressingroom.

“It was a pleasure to know Jimmy – I would have known of him and seen him play but I really didn’t get to know him until he got involved with Cork in 1976 – as long as he was there, the dressing was a great place to be, he had a way about him that lightened the atmosphere,” he said.

“To the Barrs and the Glen fellows and fellows outside of Blackrock, who wouldn’t have known him before then, we were delighted with him – he was very solid and very good at analysing a game and analysing players, but he had a great attitude and great stories to tell and knew how to tell them.”

Brohan’s fellow Blackrock man and a member of that 1970s three in a row side, Eamon O’Donoghue echoed both Barry Murphy and Coughlan, describing Brohan as “a good student of the game who could read a game and had a great way with people, dealing with players.

“There’s great sadness in Blackrock today for Jimmy – Jimmy gave his life to Blackrock – when he finished playing with Cork and playing senior with Blackrock, he continued playing at lower grades with Blackrock – he played junior hurling and intermediate football, no problem at all to him.

“A few years ago, he came back down with the underage in Blackrock, he was coaching the kids on a Saturday morning – he was able to relate with the small kids – he was very popular in the club and a great servant, and we honoured him by naming the hurling after him, the Jimmy Brohan Hurling Wall.”

Today, Blackrock National Hurling Club announced news of Brohan’s death: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our club president Jimmy Brohan. A legend of our club, both on and off the pitch and friend and mentor to so many of us,” the Rockies posted on social media.

Cork GAA also expressed its sympathy in a statement: “The death of Jimmy Brohan, president of Blackrock removes a gentleman who has given his club and county wonderful service as a player, selector and steward.

“Jimmy played his part in Blackrock’s success in the Cork county senior championships of 1956 and 1961. He won a Celtic cross with Cork senior hurlers in 1954 and was a member of the team which lost out to Wexford in 1956.

“Jimmy was a selector with the Cork senior hurling three in a row side of 1976, 1977 and 1978. He returned as a county selector when Cork won the All-Ireland senior final of 1986 when he saw his nephew, Tom Cashman captain the team to victory.”

One of a family of seven, Brohan was born on Wheeler’s Lane in Ballintemple but the family moved to Mahon Terrace in Blackrock when he was four and it was there that he honed his skills as a hurler that led to such an illustrious career with club and county.

Hurling was everywhere – among his neighbours on the street were the famous Coughlan brothers, Eudie and John, who had played in the 1931 All-Ireland final against Kilkenny, which went to three games and “Down Down” Dorney who had played for the Rockies in the early years of the century.

“One time I was caught by the Gardai and fined half a crown (15 cent), a large sum of money in those days, for hurling on the road – imagine being fined for hurling in Blackrock!” he later told Blackrock clubman, Gerard O’Mahony for a profile on the club website.

A Cork minor in 1952 and 1953, Brohan made his senior debut for Blackrock in 1953 when at left corner back he marked Christy Ring in the Cork county senior semi-final, and, although the Glen won the game, Brohan performed so well that Ring moved out to centre forward.

Brohan won two Cork county championships with Blackrock in 1956 and 1961 and in addition to his All-Ireland success in 1954, he won five Railway Cups with Munster while he was also chosen on the rest of Ireland selection (the precursors to the All-Stars) on five occasions.

Long regarded as one of the most stylish corners backs ever to come out of Cork, Brohan’s prowess as a hurler was recognised nationally in 1961 when in a Gael Linn sponsored popular poll published in The Irish Independent by GAA writer, John D Hickey, he was chosen at right corner back.

Billed to find the greatest hurling team ever, the poll saw Brohan received 3,548 votes – over 2,000 more than his nearest challenger for right corner back – and only Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard, Mick Mackey and Lory Meagher received more votes than him in the plebiscite.

Predeceased by his wife, Betty, Jimmy Brohan is survived by his sons, Frank and David and sisters, Anne and Mary and his brothers Bobby and John (who both played soccer with Cork Hibernians). He will be buried following requiem mass at St Michael’s Church in Blackrock on Friday.