through the provincial campaign again and, following a defeat of Galway in the semi-final, the men in red booked their place in a second consecutive All-Ireland final showdown with Wexford. Like the previous year the game turned into a close, exciting affair. A Seánie O'Leary goal, together with some brilliant saves by goalkeeper Martin Coleman helped Cork to a 1–17 to 3–8 victory. 1978 saw Cork sneak a narrow 0–13 to 0–11 win over Clare in the Munster final, paving the way for 'the Rebels' to take on Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The stakes were high as Cork were attempting to capture a first three in-a-row since 1954. The game, however, was not the classic that many expected. Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes. With thirteen minutes left Jimmy Barry-Murphy hit a low shot in towards the goal and it bounced in past goalkeeper Noel Skehan. The goal turned out to be the deciding factor as Cork went on to win the game and a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. 1979 to 1981 - Kilkenny bounce back while Galway and Offaly make history Cork's bid for a record-equalling fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row fell short when the team were beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Because of this the men from the west advanced to the championship decider where Kilkenny were waiting. Unfortunately, the last final of the seventies turned out to be the least exciting of the decade. Galway goalkeeper Séamus Shinnors had an absolute nightmare of a game. A 70-yards free by Liam 'Chunky' O’Brien after just four minutes dipped, hit off Shinnors and ended up in the Galway net. Galway fought back and went two points up twelve minutes into the second half courtesy of a Noel Lane goal; however, they failed to score for the rest of the game. Four minutes before the end of the game another long-range free for Kilkenny ended up in the net behind Shinnors. It was a score which summed up the day for Galway as Kilkenny went on to win by 2–12 to 1-8 In 1980 Galway reached the All-Ireland final for a second year in-a-row with Munster champions Limerick providing the opposition. An exciting championship decider followed. Bernie Forde and P.J. Molloy goals for Galway meant that the men from the west led by 2–7 to 1–5 at half-time. Éamonn Cregan single-handedly