St Finbarr's Cunningham joined the
St Finbarr's club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels without success. He was just 18-years-old when he joined the St Finbarr's senior team as first-choice goalkeeper in advance of the
1979 Championship. On 7 October 1979, Cunningham lined out in goal when St Finbarr's faced
Blackrock in the
final; however, he ended the game on the losing side after a 2-14 to 2-06 defeat. On 12 October 1980, Cunningham lined out in a second successive
final when St Finbarr's faced
Glen Rovers. He ended the game with his first
winners' medal following a 1-09 to 2-04 victory. Cunningham claimed a
Munster Championship medal on 12 October 1980 after a 2-12 to 1-14 defeat of
Roscrea in the
Munster final. The
All-Ireland final on 17 May 1981 saw St Finbarr's suffer a 1-15 to 1-11 defeat by
Ballyhale Shamrocks, with Cunningham once again lining out in goal. St Finbarr's qualified for a third successive
final on 13 September 1981, with Cunningham once again lining out in goal against Glen Rovers. He ended the game with a second successive championship medal following the 1-12 to 1-09 victory. On 10 October 1982, Cunningham played in his fourth successive
final when St Finbarr's faced Blackrock. He ended the game with a third successive winners' medal as well as being named
man of the match after the 2-17 to 3-09 victory. For the fifth successive season, St Finbarr's qualified for the
final with Cunningham lining out in goal against
Midleton. For the second time in his career he ended on the losing side after a 1-18 to 2-09 defeat. Cunningham lined out in a sixth successive
final on 30 September 1984 when St Finbarr's faced
Ballyhea. He claimed a fourth championship winners' medal overall after the 1-15 to 2-04 victory. Cunningham was appointed captain of the team in advance of the
1988 Championship. On 16 October 1988, he captained the team to a
final appearance against Glen Rovers. Cunningham ended the game with a fifth winners' medal after the 3-18 to 2-14 victory, while he also had the honour of lifting the
Seán Óg Murphy Cup on behalf of the team. On 14 October 1990, Cunningham made his eighth
final appearance when he lined out in goal in a 3-06 to 1-12 draw with
Na Piarsaigh. The replay a week later saw Cunningham end up on the losing side after a 2-07 to 1-08 defeat. Cunningham assumed the captaincy of the team for the
1993 Championship. On 10 October 1993, he lined out in goal in a 10th
county final, with first-time finalists
Carbery holding St Finbarr's to a 1-17 apiece draw. The replay a week later saw Cunningham selected as man of the match as he claimed his sixth winners' medal following a 1-14 to 1-13 victory.
Cork Minor and under-21 Cunningham first played for Cork as a
dual player during the 1978 Munster Championships; however, it was with the hurling team that he had his greatest successes. On 30 July 1978, he won a
Munster Championship medal after lining out in goal in the 1-14 to 3-06 defeat of
Tipperary in the final. On 3 September 1978, Cunningham was again selected in goal when Cork faced
Kilkenny in the
All-Ireland final. He ended the game with a
winners' medal after the 1-15 to 1-08 victory. On 8 July 1979, Cunningham won a second successive Munster Championship medal, however, an injury ruled him out of the 3-17 to 4-04 defeat of
Limerick in the final. For the second year in succession, Cork qualified to play Kilkenny in the
All-Ireland final. Cunningham - who was restored to the starting fifteen - ended the game with a second successive All-Ireland medal after the 2-11 to 1-09 victory. Cunningham subsequently joined both the Cork under-21 hurling and football teams. He collected a set of
Munster and
All-Ireland medals with the under-21 footballers as an unused substitute in 1981, following respective provincial and All-Ireland decider defeats of
Kerry and
Galway. The following year Cunningham added a
Munster medal with the under-21 hurlers to his collection. Galway were the opponents in the subsequent All-Ireland decider on a day when both defences gave superb displays. Cork came from behind in the closing stages to win by a single point, scored from long range by
Kevin Hennessy. It was yet another underage
All-Ireland medal for Cunningham.
Senior In 1979 Cunningham was still a member of the Cork minor hurling team when he joined the county senior panel. He made his senior debut in May 1980, lining out against Kilkenny in a challenge match. Cunningham replaced
Timmy Murphy as Cork's first-choice goalkeeper the following year and remained an ever-present fixture for the best part of twenty years. In 1981 Cunningham enjoyed his first major success at senior level when he won a
National Hurling League medal following a victory over
Offaly. Success in the championship eluded him until 1982 when he collected his first senior
Munster title following a 5–31 to 3–6 drubbing of
Waterford. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Cork against Kilkenny, with 'the Rebels' installed as the red-hot favourites. All did not go to plan as Kilkenny dominated.
Christy Heffernan was the hero of the day as he scored two goals in a forty-second spell just before half-time.
Ger Fennelly captured a third goal in the second half as Kilkenny completely trounced 'the Rebels' by 3–18 to 1–15. Cunningham claimed a second Munster title in 1983 as Waterford fell heavily by 3–22 to 0–12 for the second consecutive year. After defeating Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final Cork squared up to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final for the second year in-a-row. Once again Kilkenny dominated the game, assisted by a strong wind in the first-half, and hung on in the face of a great fight-back by Cork. At the full-time whistle Kilkenny emerged victorious by 2–14 to 2–12. A four-point win gave Cork the title and gave Cunningham a second All-Ireland medal. He was later presented with a third consecutive All-Star. Cunningham was also honoured by being named
Texaco Hurler of the Year. Over the next three years Tipperary re-emerged as the kingpins of Munster hurling as Cork's fortunes took a downturn. One of the lowest points in Cunningham's career happened during this drought for Cork hurling. Playing against Waterford in 1989 Cunningham received a heavy knock to the head and spent the remainder of the game in a daze, conceding three goals. It was Cunningham's third All-Ireland medal and the first of a remarkable hurling and football double for Cork. Cunningham claimed his seventh Munster medal in 1992, however, Cork faced the old enemy Kilkenny in another All-Ireland final. Prior to the game Kilkenny won the toss, however, 'the Cats' chose to play against the wind. At half-time his side were only two points in arrears thanks to a
D.J. Carey goal four minutes before the interval.
John Power and
Michael Phelan added two second-half goals to give Kilkenny a 3–10 to 1–12 win. ==Coaching career==