James Lalor (16 October 1877 – 28 February 1956) was 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 ...

hurler who played as a midfielder for the

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 ...

senior team. Born in Threecastles,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Lalor first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty when made his senior debut in the 1897 championship. Lalor went on to play a key part for Kilkenny during the team's breakthrough and first golden age, and 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 and six

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. At club level Lalor won two

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 ...

medals with Threecastles. Lalor's brother,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

, was also an All-Ireland medallist with Kilkenny.

Early life

He was born at Cooleshall, Three Castles, in October 1877 and received his education at Clinstown National School.

Playing career

Club

Lalor played his club hurling with Threecastles and enjoyed much success during the club's most successful era. In 1898 he lined out in his first county championship decider. Confederation was the opponent. However, a 4-1 to 2-3 victory gave Lalor his first

medal. After losing the county decider in 1901, it was 1903 before Lalor enjoyed further success. A 2-10 to 0-5 defeat of Kilmanagh in a replay gave him a second championship medal.

Inter-county

Lalor first came to prominence on the inter-county scene when he made his senior debut with Kilkenny in 1897. After receiving a walkover from

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

in the provincial decider, Kilkenny later faced

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the All-Ireland final on 20 November 1898. Kilkenny had yet to win the All-Ireland, however, they looked set for victory by taking a 2-4 to 1-1 half-time lead. Two Limerick goals early in the second-half changed the complexion of the game. Kilkenny failed to score in the second-half as Limerick went on to win by 3-4 to 2-4. In 1898 Lalor lined out in his first provincial decider. A 4-12 to 3-2 trouncing of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

gave Lalor his second

title, his first on the field of play. This victory allowed Kilkenny advance to an All-Ireland final meeting with

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 ...

on 25 March 1900. Kilkenny dominated the first twenty-three minutes, however, Tipperary then took command. In the second-half

Mikey Maher Michael "Mikey" Maher (15 July 1869 – 18 May 1947) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Tubberadora, County Tipperary, Maher first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty- ...

scored a hat-trick of goals while Bill Devane scored a remarkable point, kicking the sliotar over off the top of the goalpost. At the long whistle Tipperary had recorded a 7-13 to 3-10 victory, as Lalor ended up on the losing side once again. After an absence from the team for a number of years, Lalor lined out in another provincial decider in 1903. Dublin were the opponents and the game ended in a 1-5 apiece draw. Kilkenny later objected to the result and were subsequently awarded the title as Dublin's goal was disputed. It was Lalor's third Leinster medal. The 'home' All-Ireland final on 16 July 1905 pitted Kilkenny against

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. In a disappointing contest Lalor's side were heavily defeated by 8-9 to 0-8. Lalor added a fourth Leinster medal to his collection in 1904, as Dublin were narrowly defeated by 2-8 to 2-6. Cork provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland decider on 24 June 1906, the start of which was delayed by half an hour due to a heavy downpour. Kilkenny played into the breeze for the opening thirty minutes, and a Dick Doyle gave the team an interval lead of 1-5 to 0-5. Team captain

Jer Doheny Jeremiah "Jer" Doheny (20 July 1874 – 11 August 1929) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team. He was captain for Kilkenny's first All Ireland victory in 1904. Born in Ballycallan, County Kilk ...

and goalkeeper Pat "Fox" Maher were singled out for particular praise as Kilkenny claimed a narrow 1-9 to 1-8 victory. It was Lalor's first

medal. Kilkenny made it three provincial titles in-a-row in 1905, with Lalor collecting a fifth Leinster medal following a 2-8 to 2-2 defeat of Dublin. Kilkenny later faced Cork in the All-Ireland final on 14 April 1907. A high-scoring game resulted in a 5-10 to 3-13 victory for Cork, however, the game had to be replayed as Cork goalkeeper Daniel McCarthy was a

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

reservist and Kilkenny's

Matt Gargan Matthew Gargan (30 September 1885 – 10 March 1949) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Kilkenny and Waterford senior teams. Gargan made his first appearance for the Kilkenny team during the 1905 championship and was a re ...

had played with

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 ...

in the Munster championship. The replayed game on 30 June 1907 was another high-scoring one, with Jimmy Kelly scoring 5-2. A puck-out by Cork's

Jamesy Kelleher Jamesy Kelleher (31 March 1878 – 10 January 1943) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the Cork senior team. Born in Dungourney, County Cork, Kelleher first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-three when he fi ...

is said to have hopped over the Kilkenny crossbar. Kilkenny won the game by 7-7 to 2-9, with all seven of their goals coming in a thirty-minute spell. It was Lalor's second All-Ireland medal. After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in 1906, Kilkenny bounced back the following year. A 4-14 to 1-9 defeat of Dublin gave Lalor a sixth Leinster medal.

Honours

Team

;Threecastles *

Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship The Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the St Canice's Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny County Board of ...

(2): 1898, 1903 ;Kilkenny *

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 ...

(2):

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

(6):

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Jim 1877 births 1956 deaths Threecastles hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners