The day Kilkenny turned the Tipperary tide is the focus of Wednesday evenings for the next four weeks on KCLR.
2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 All-Ireland senior hurling final. It was the 81st staging of the championship with Kilkenny running out 3-8 to 2-7 winners in Croke Park on 3 September that year.
The championship format was a little different then with no All-Ireland semi-finals in place. Instead, all games were played on a knockout basis and once you were out, you were out. Galway were playing in the Munster championship at the time and the winners of Munster and Leinster advanced directly to the All-Ireland final. In 1967, that was Tipperary and Kilkenny. Eddie Keher hit 2-5 himself in the Leinster final that year as the Cats beat Wexford 4-10 to 1-12 to set up the encounter, Tipperary seeing off Clare in the corresponding Munster fixture.
64,241 people made their way to Croke Park to see Kilkenny and Tipp meet in what would turn out to be a hard-fought battle between the arch-rivals. The game stands out in the minds of players, experts and lovers of the sport as a unique, seminal final in the history of hurling in Kilkenny with the Cats not having beaten Tipperary in an All-Ireland hurling final for 45 years before that date.
So, in 2017, we joined Kilkenny hurling great Michael Fennelly for a look back at one of the most pivotal moments in Kilkenny’s hurling past. Fennelly himself retired from inter-county hurling in 2017 but shares his own experiences and parallels with the 1967 final having captained Kilkenny to the 2009 All-Ireland title against the Munster men.
Airing in four parts, you can hear the retelling of the 1967 All-Ireland final on Wednesday 12 July, 19 July, 26 July and Wednesday 3 August. You’ll also be able to listen back via the Documentaries On KCLR podcast through the KCLR app or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you do your podcast listening. Ahead of it’s repeat airing, we’ve got the first episode below for you.
September 3, 1967: The Black & Amber Tide Turns was produced by Monica Hayes and presented by Michael Fennelly through the BAI’s Sound & Vision scheme, supported by the television license fee.
