Fergal Hartley (born 4 February 1972) is an Irish retired
hurler who played as a centre-back for the
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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senior team.
Born in
Ballygunner
Ballygunner ( ga, Baile Gunnair), is a civil parish in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the southern outskirts of Waterford city.
The placename is derived, in part, from the Old Norse masculine personal name ''Gunnarr''.
Ballygunner conta ...
,
County Waterford
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
, Hartley first played competitive hurling during his schooling at
De La Salle College. He arrived on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Waterford minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the
1993 championship. Hartley went on to enjoy a lengthy career and won one
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.
Hartley was a member of the
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 ...
inter-provincial team on a number of occasions. At club level he is a one-time
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 ...
medallist with
Ballygunner
Ballygunner ( ga, Baile Gunnair), is a civil parish in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the southern outskirts of Waterford city.
The placename is derived, in part, from the Old Norse masculine personal name ''Gunnarr''.
Ballygunner conta ...
. In addition to this Hartley has also won eight
championship medals.
Throughout his career Hartley made 26 championship appearances for Waterford. After retiring from inter-county hurling in July 2003, he returned to inter-county activity for one more campaign in 2005. Hartley retired for the second time on 10 January 2006.
In retirement from playing Hartley became involved in team management and coaching. He spent two years as manager of the Waterford under-21 team, Hartley later took charge of the Ballygunner senior team.
Playing career
Club
Hartley played his club hurling with the
Ballygunner
Ballygunner ( ga, Baile Gunnair), is a civil parish in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the southern outskirts of Waterford city.
The placename is derived, in part, from the Old Norse masculine personal name ''Gunnarr''.
Ballygunner conta ...
club in Waterford and has enjoyed much success.
In 1992 Hartley won his first
county club championship medal following a 1–12 to 2–7 defeat of
Mount Sion. It was the club's first title in twenty-four years.
Ballygunner surrendered their club title the following year, but were back in the final again in 1995 to face Mount Sion. Hartley won his second championship medal that year following a draw and a replay. It was the first of three county final victories in-a-row for Ballygunner, defeating Lismore in 1996 and Passage in 1997.
Four club titles in-a-row proved beyond Ballygunner, however, the club bounced back in 1999 with Hartley winning a fifth county championship medal following a five-point defeat of old rivals Mount Sion.
After a defeat by Mount Sion in the championship decider in 2000, Hartley secured a sixth championship medal in 2001 when Ballygunner accounted for
Lismore. He later claimed a
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 ...
winners' medal after his club accounted for
Blackrock in the provincial final.
After the high of winning the provincial title Ballygunner went on to lose three club championship finals in succession. They broke this unenviable record at the fourth attempt with Hartley winning a seventh county championship medal following a 2–10 to 1–12 defeat of
De La Salle.
Ballygunner lost two further finals in succession before Hartley won his eight championship medal in 2009 following a one-point defeat of Lismore after a draw and a replay.
Inter-County
Hartley first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Waterford under-21 teams. In 1992 he won a
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 in that grade before later lining out in the All-Ireland final.
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 hono ...
provided the opposition on that occasion, however, the game ended in a draw. The replay saw Waterford take the title by 0–12 to 2–3 and Hartley collected an
All-Ireland under-21 medal.
Flynn's performances at underage levels brought him to the attention of the senior selectors and he made his senior debut in the
1993 championship. It was a less than auspicious start to Hartley's hurling career as Waterford were defeated by the minnows of
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
in the opening round of the Munster championship. It was one of the lowest points in Waterford hurling.
In
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
Hartley played in his first Munster final in the senior grade. Waterford held All-Ireland champions
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
to a draw in the Munster final, however, the Decies lost the replay. Hartley's side later 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 semi-final in what would be the county's first appearance in
Croke Park
Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...
since
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
. Kilkenny won by a single point.
In
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
Waterford emerged from the doldrums by reaching the Munster final once again. Hartley was captain as he collected 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 ...
winners' medal as Waterford defeated reigning All-Ireland champions
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
by 2–23 to 3–12. It was their first provincial crown in thirty-nine years. Waterford's hurling odyssey came to an end in the All-Ireland semi-final.
After surrendering the Munster title to Cork in 2003, Hartley decided to call time on his inter-county career.
In 2005 Hartley had a change of heart and decided to return to the Waterford team for one final season. It was a disappointing year as Waterford crashed out of the early stages of the provincial championship in 2005 before facing a defeat by Cork in the All-Ireland series.
In January 2006 Hartley announced his retirement from inter-county hurling for the second time.
Inter-provincial
Hartley also unsuccessfully lined out with
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 ...
in the inter-provincial series of games.
Honours
Player
;University of Limerick
*
Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 1994
;Ballygunner
*
Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (1): 2001
*
Waterford Senior Club Hurling Championship (8): 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2009
;Waterford
*
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...
(1):
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
(c)
*
All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (1):
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
*
Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (1):
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
Manager
;Ballygunner
*
Waterford Senior Club Hurling Championship (2):
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Fergal
1972 births
Living people
Ballygunner hurlers
Waterford inter-county hurlers
Munster inter-provincial hurlers
Hurling managers
People educated at De La Salle College Waterford