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| Event | 1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 3 September 1939 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park,Dublin | ||||||
| Referee | J. Flaherty (Offaly) | ||||||
| Attendance | 39,302 | ||||||
| Weather | Thunderstorm | ||||||
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The1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, also known as theThunder and Lightning Final, was the 52nd All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-countyhurling tournament for the top teams inIreland. The match was held atCroke Park,Dublin, on 3 September 1939, betweenKilkenny andCork. The Munster champions narrowly lost to their Leinster opponents on a score line of 2–7 to 3-3.
It's one of seven All Ireland senior hurling finals to be won with the last score of the game (1904, 1907, 1912, 1939, 1947, 1957 & 1997). Kilkenny won all of those finals except for 1997.
Sunday, 3 September was the date of the 1939 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Cork and Kilkenny. Cork were appearing in their first championship decider since 1931 when they defeated Kilkenny after a three-game saga to take the title. Kilkenny, however, last won the All-Ireland title in 1935 and last appeared in the final in 1936 when they fell toLimerick. Two days before the final, on 1 September,Nazi Germany invadedPoland, and, when his ultimatum expired, British Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain broadcast Britain's declaration of war on Germany over the radio at 11.15am on 3 September, signaling the start ofWorld War II.[1] His declaration of war came 4 hours before the final began at 3.15pm.
Players and supporters awoke to torrential rain on the morning of the game. It continued to fall until the early afternoon but subsided just before the game started. AsJack Lynch andJimmy Walsh led their respective teams around Croke Park bright sunshine greeted the men in red and the men in black and amber.
At 3:15pm GAA President Paddy McNamee threw in the sliothar the game was on. Even with the benefit of the wind at their backs the Cork men, who were playing at Croke Park for the first time in eight years, began slowly. Within three minutes the Munster champions were 1–1 to 0–0 in arrears asJimmy Phelan found the net for the first time in the game with an early assault on the Cork goalmouth. Cork captain Jack Lynch opened the scoring for his team, however, ‘the Rebels’ struggled until half-time when they trailed by 2–4 to 1-1.
The game had just restarted when players and spectators alike were startled by a ferocious clap of thunder. What followed was a thunderstorm of extraordinary proportions with thunder and lightning accompanying a heavy downpour. Conditions were so bad that spectators could not make out the identity of some of the players on the field. The spectators sitting in the open had to seek refuge from the elements at several stages throughout the second thirty minutes of play while the press box situated in the front row of the Cusack Stand also had to find alternative accommodation.
On the field of play the hurlers battled with the elements as well as with each other. So bad were the conditions that the dye from the players’ jerseys ran into their togs. The Cork players found their feet and came storming back into the game. Jack Lynch stood up and played a captain's role once again when he scored another goal for Cork. Kilkenny'sPaddy Phelan was the star defender of the day as he repelled wave after wave of Cork attacks on goal. As the game neared its conclusion Cork'sWillie Campbell lined up to take a long-range free. He sent the sliothar goal-wards, however, it fell through a number of defenders and hurleys and ended in the Kilkenny net. It was speculated thatTed O'Sullivan might have got a touch on the sliothar; however, regardless of this the sides were level with just two minutes left in the game. Most agreed that a draw was now likely and, given the conditions that the game was played in, a draw would have been appropriate. With time running out Jack Lynch missed a number of points before Paddy Phelan sent a 70-yard free in towards the Cork goalmouth. The sliothar was gobbled up by the defence and cleared, but only as far asJimmy Kelly who sent it straight over the bar for a one-point lead. Many newspapers creditedTerry Leahy with scoring the point, however, Kelly was the hero of the day. Immediately after the puck-out the referee blew the whistle and Kilkenny were the champions on a score line of 2–7 to 3-3.
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MATCH RULES
A sliotar from the game, with the inscription "Jim Langton - All-Ireland 1939", sold at auction in Kilkenny for €750 in March 2021.[2]
I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10, Downing Street.
This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11.00 a.m. that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us.
I have to tell you that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.
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