Steva Riordan

Stephen "Steva" Riordan (born 1876) was an Irish hurler who played as a half-forward for the Cork senior team.

Riordan made his first appearance for the team during the 1902 championship and was a regular member of the starting seventeen until his retirement after the 1908 championship. During that time he won two All-Ireland medals and three Munster medals. An All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions, Riordan captained the team to the All-Ireland title in 1903.^[1][2]

At club level Riordan won multiple county club championship medals with Dungourney and Blackrock.

Playing career

Inter-county

Riordan made his debut for Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Galway in the delayed 1902 championship. He later lined out in the All-Ireland decider against London. The game was played in Cork to mark the opening of the new Cork Athletic Ground. Having been shocked by the same opposition the previous year Cork made no mistake on this occasion and powered to a 3-13 to 0-0 victory. It was Riordan's first All-Ireland medal.

1903 saw Riordan being honoured with the captaincy of the Cork senior hurling team. He won his first Munster medal that year as Cork trounced Waterford by 5-16 to 1-1. For the third successive year Riordan's team faced London in the All-Ireland final. Cork were well on top for the entire game and secured a 3-16 to 1-1 victory. It was Riordan's second consecutive All-Ireland medal.

In 1904 Cork were attempting to capture a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. The campaign began well with Cork defeating Tipperary by 3-10 to 3-4 to secure a second Munster medal for Riordan. A subsequent trouncing of Antrim set up an All-Ireland final showdown with Kilkenny. It was the beginning of a hugely successful era for "the Cats" as Cork were heading into decline. Kilkenny won the game thanks to Dick Doyle’s first-half goal, while Pat "Fox" Maher made a great save at the end to help his team to a 1-9 to 1-8 defeat of Riordan's side.

Riordan was on and off the team over the next few years; however, he picked up a third Munster medal following a 1-6 to 1-4 defeat of Tipperary in 1907. Cork later reached the All-Ireland final with Kilkenny once again providing the opposition. A high-scoring, but close, game developed between these two great rivals once again. As the game entered the final stage there was little to separate the two sides. Jimmy Kelly scored three first-half goals while Jack Anthony scored Kilkenny’s winning point at the death. Cork went on two late goal hunts; however, the final score of 3-12 to 4-8 gave Kilkenny a narrow one-point win. It was Riordan's second defeat in an All-Ireland final, however, the game became the benchmark by which all subsequent All-Ireland performances would be judged.

Riordan retired from inter-county hurling following Cork's early exit from the 1908 championship.

References