Alan Neville (born 1969) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former hurler who played as a left corner-forward for the Clare senior hurling team. Neville made his first appearance for the team during the 1992 championship and became a regular member of the starting fifteen over the next few seasons. During that time he won one

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal on the field of play and one Munster medal as a non-playing substitute. At club level Neville is a Munster medalist with Clarecstle. In addition to this he also won four county club championship medals. In retirement from plays Neville as become involved in team management as a selector with

Cratloe Cratloe () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, situated between Limerick and Shannon in the mid-west of Ireland. It is possible that the name derives from ''Croit-shliabh'' meaning "hump-backed hill", referring to Woodcock Hill. The present ...

Playing career

Club

Neville played his club hurling with his local team in Clarecastle and enjoyed much success during a golden age for the club. After playing for the club's minor and under-21 teams, Neville made his championship debut in 1987. That year Clarecastle qualified for a second consecutive county championship final.

Feakle Feakle (historically ''Feakell'' and ''Fiakil'', from ) is a village in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, in the Feakle (parish), Roman Catholic parish of the same name. Location "Paroiste na fiacaile" means parish of the tooth. A lege ...

were the opponents on this occasion, however, Clarecastle made history by retaining the title for the first time. A 0-15 to 0-11 score line gave Neville his first

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

medal. Three-in-a-row proved beyond Neville's side, while Clarecastle were beaten by

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge (), is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road. Sixmilebridge partly serves as a dormitory village for workers in the ...

in the county final of 1989. In 1991 Neville lined out in a third county championship decider.

Scariff Scarriff Central Statistics Office, Census 2002Population of Towns ordered by County and size, 1996 and 2002 or Scariff () is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland, situated in the midwest of Ireland. The town is on the West end of Loug ...

were the opponents, however, the title went to Clarecastle, giving Neville a second championship medal. Three years later in 1994 Clarecastle were back in yet another county final. Up-and-coming club side St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield provided the opposition, however, they were no match for Clarecastle. Neville added a third championship medal to his collection. Defeat in the county final of 1996 gave Clarecasle the impetus to make amends in 1997. St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield lined out in opposition, however, Clarecastle had too much and won the game. It was Neville's fourth county championship winners' medal. Clarecastle subsequently represented the county in the provincial club series of games and even reached the final. Limerick champions

Patrickswell Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick (), is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. It is primarily a commuter village for people working in Limerick, particularly the nearby industrial suburb of Raheen. The population was 847 ...

provided the opposition, however, a 2–11 to 0–15 score line gave Clarecastle the title and gave O'Loughlin a Munster medal. A defeat of St. Gabriel's of London in the All-Ireland quarter-final saw Neville's side advance to a semi-final meeting with Birr. A thrilling 1–15 to 3–9 draw was followed by an even more exciting replay with extra-time. A narrow 0–12 to 0–11 score line gave Birr the win and saw Clarecastle exit the championship.

Inter-county

Neville made his senior debut for Clare when he came on as a substitute in a drawn Munster quarter-final game against

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. He became a regular substitute over the following three seasons. In 1995

Ger Loughnane Gerard "Ger" Loughnane (born 27 January 1953) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Clare senior team. Born in Feakle, County Clare, Loughnane first played competitive hurling whilst at school in St. Flannan's C ...

took over as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and guided Clare to the All-Ireland final. The Bannermen were the underdogs against reigning champions

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

. Although trailing at half-time, substitute

Éamonn Taaffe Éamonn Taaffe (born 18 February 1975) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-forward for the Clare senior team. Born in Tubber, County Clare, Taaffe first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Our Lady's College. He a ...

scored a crucial goal to propel Clare to a 1-13 to 2-8 victory. Neville was introduced as a substitute to collect an

medal on the field of play. It was their first championship title in eighty-one years.

Honours

Team

;St Flannan's College *

Dr Croke Cup The Dr Croke Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the All Ireland Secondary Schools Senior "A" hurling championship. Before that it was an inter-county GAA competition in hurling. The first Croke Cups (which included hurling and Gaelic ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

Dr Harty Cup The Dr Harty Cup, officially known as the Munster Colleges Senior A Hurling Championship, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-schools ...

: 1987 ;Clarecastle *

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 f ...

(1): 1997 * Clare Senior Club Hurling Championship (4): 1987, 1991, 1994, 1997 ;Clare * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1):

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Alan 1969 births Living people Clarecastle hurlers Clare inter-county hurlers Hurling managers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners