All Star line-up for 2000 contest

Cork goalkeeper Donal Og Cusack will take part in this year's Poc Fada competition the day after his side contest Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final with Offaly.

Cusack is among the high-profile table of competitors that also includes Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins and current Poc Fada champion Davy Fitzgerald.

"Donal Og is a huge supporter of this competition and was very eager to participate on Monday after his experience here last summer. He had to get full clearance from the Cork management and, obviously, the timing isn't ideal for him, but it highlights how keen he is to win it this year," said Pat McGinn, of the Poc Fada Craobh na hEireann and a driving force behind the annual contest.

"I think Davy Fitzgerald encountered similar difficulties a few years ago with Clare, but all these lads place a tremendous value on the competition."

The Poc Fada was originally held in 1961 after Fr Pol Mac Seain of the Naomh Moinne club in Louth overheard a group of young hurlers speculating over the number of pucks it would take to drive a sliothar between two points in the Cooley mountains, as related in the old tale about Setanta.

The contest was held annually for the next 10 years but underwent a fallow period in the 70s before undergoing a steady revival in the following decades.

"The profile of this competition is rising all the time. I think it's important to point out that this is perhaps one of the few GAA competitions left where all spectators have equal seating, there are no suites or added facilities or anything else.

"The mountain is the feature and it provides a special task for the hurler. As Davy Fitz' said, it's you against the mountain and it demands different skills than those of the normal flat-field puck out. In terms of balance and poise, it is similar at times to golf," explained McGinn.

This year's course, on the Ath na Bearna range, is five kilometres in length, with the winner determined by the distance covered in the least number of pucks. Each entrant has a team of four.

The Feighli Scoir records the score, the Maoir walks ahead keeping the participant on course while two youngsters, based on Gilla and Gas og place flags at the landing point of each puck. The group is known as the meitheal.

"Generally we find that people who make the effort to attend the event stay loyal to it.

"We have musicians on the course and various facilities and people journey from all over the country to watch, especially from Munster."

The Poc Fada has long drawn many of the top hurling goalkeepers in the game, with former Cork star Ger Cunningham especially prolific in the 1980s, taking seven gold medals in a row.

Twelve men will take part in Monday's event. Wickow's Colin Byrne claimed the title two years ago and Liam Enright from Cahir is the current Munster Poc Fada champion.

Clarinbridge's Ritchie Burke is the Connacht champion while Damien McMullan from Dunloy is the Ulster kingpin.

M Donnelly Poc Fada 2000: Colin Byrne (Wicklow), Michael Slattery (Kilkenny), Mark Gannon (Meath), Liam Enright (Cahir), Pat Morressey (Cork), Ritchie Burke (Galway), Damien McMullan (Antrim), Jason McManus (Fermanagh), Brendan Cummins (Tipperary), Donal Og Cusack (Cork), David Fitzgerald (Clare), Adrian Kelly (Roscommon).