Mayo mourn 'Jinkin' Joe Corcoran October 24, 2017





The late Joe Corcoran. Pic courtesy Ardnaree Sarsfields The late Joe Corcoran. Pic courtesy Ardnaree Sarsfields

High-scoring Mayo football legend Joe Corcoran has passed away.

Known as 'Jinkin Joe', the Ardnaree Sarsfields clubman will be fondly remembered as one of the most natural forwards ever to pull on a Mayo shirt. Indeed many good judges amongst the Western faithful rate Joe Corcoran as Mayo's greatest ever forward.

As stylish an attacker as has graced the field in any county, Corcoran scored 20 goals and 358 points in 94 league and championship games during the course of a stellar career in the Green & Red that ran from 1958 until 1974. He remained Mayo's all-time leading scorer until overtaken by Conor Mortimer in 2012.

A skilful wing forward who was equally lethal off either foot, legend has it that Corcoran was so talented he never practised his free-taking - it just came naturally to him. He was also an outstanding golfer.

While he never got to play in an All-Ireland final, Joe won two Connacht championships (1967, 1969) and a National League medal (1970) as well as a Railway Cup with Connacht in '69.

Back in the mid sixties Mayo were generally rated as the second best team in the country. On a couple of occasions they came so agonisingly close to beating the great Galway three in a row team of that era in the Connacht championship.

Sadly when Mayo did shake off the Galway shackles they were just pipped by future All Ireland champions, Meath in 67 and Kerry in 69 at the All Ireland semi final stage.

There was uproar in Mayo in 1963 when 'Jinkin Joe' was omitted from a trip to America at a time when he was, in his own words, "playing my best football". He was still going strong some five years later when hitting champions Meath for 1-9 in Wembley Tournament!

In 1969, Joe scored all eleven of Mayo's points in their 0-11 apiece draw with Kerry in the national football league semi-final. He added 1-2 in the replay, which Mayo won. We may never see his likes again.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.

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