Conor McGrath (born 29 May 1991) is an Irish hurler who plays as a left corner-forward for the Clare senior team. Born in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, McGrath was introduced to hurling by his father, a

Toomevara Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The village is at the junction on the R445 where it meets the R499 regional road. The village was bypassed in December 2010 by the M7 Dublin - Limerick motorway. It ...

native who was heavily involved in hurling coaching. He developed his skills in the Harty Cup with St. Caimin's Community School, while simultaneously becoming involved at underage levels with the

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 ...

club. A

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

at the highest level, McGrath has won two championship medals each in both hurling and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

. McGrath made his debut on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Clare minor team. After little success in this grade, he later won two

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 ...

medals with the under-21 team. McGrath made his senior debut during the 2011 championship. He has since gone on to play a key role for Clare in attack during a successful era, and has won one

medal and one

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. McGrath attended

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

Playing career

Club

In 2009 McGrath was at right corner-forward as Cratloe qualified for their first ever championship decider. Reigning champions Clonlara provided the opposition in what turned out to be a close game. McGrath scored 2–1 in helping Cratloe to a 3–5 to 1–9 victory. It was a 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 for McGrath. McGrath was a key member of the Cratloe senior football team that faced

Doonbeg Doonbeg () is a village in west County Clare, Ireland on the Atlantic coast. The surrounding natural environment has supported its development as a tourist resort. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-s ...

in the 2013 final. A close game developed, however, a 1–0 to 0–7 victory gave McGrath the distinction of being a dual championship medal winner. 2014 was a huge year for McGrath, as the Cratloe hurlers and footballers reached the finals of their respective championships. A 0–14 to 0–6 defeat of

Crusheen Crusheen () is a small village in County Clare, Ireland, in the civil parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan). Location The village is 10 kilometres northeast of Ennis on the R458 road to Gort. It is in the parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan) in the Rom ...

in the hurling decider gave McGrath, who scored 0–6, a second championship medal. A week later the Cratloe lined out against Éire Óg in the football decider. A 2–12 to 1–11 victory not only saw the team retain the football title they won for the first time the previous year but they were also the first team in Clare in 100 years to win both senior hurling and football titles in the same season.

Inter-county

McGrath first played for Clare as a member of the minor team, however, he enjoyed little success in this grade. He was still eligible for the minor grade when he was drafted onto the under-21 panel in 2009. McGrath won his first

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

medal that year after being introduced as a substitute in Clare's 2–17 to 2–12 defeat of

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 ...

. On 13 September 2009, Clare faced

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in the All-Ireland decider. A last-gasp Cormac O'Donovan point secured a narrow 0–15 to 0–14 victory. McGrath was introduced as a substitute once again and collected his first

medal in what was Clare's first championship title.

Career statistics

Honours

;Cratloe *

Clare Senior Hurling Championship The Pat O'Donnell & Co. Senior Hurling Championship, more commonly known as the'' Clare Senior Hurling Championship ''or'' Clare SHC, ''is an annual hurling competition organised by the Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It ...

(2) : 2009, 2014 *

Clare Senior Football Championship The Clare Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition organised by Clare GAA between the top twelve gaelic football clubs in County Clare, Ireland. The winners represent the county in the Munster Senior ...

(2) : 2013, 2014 * Clare Intermediate Football Championship (1) : 2009 ;Clare *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

(1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* National Hurling League Division 1 (1) :

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* National Hurling League Division 1B (1) :

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

(2) :

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-co ...

(2) :

Individual

;Awards * GAA-GPA All-Star Award (1): 2013 * Clare Senior Hurling Championship Top-Scorer (1) : 2014 (7-41)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgrath, Conor 1991 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Clare inter-county hurlers Cratloe hurlers Dual players