Joe Salmon (born 1931 in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) is a former

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 ...

sportsperson. He played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

at various times with his local club

Meelick-Eyrecourt Meelick-Eyrecourt is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the east of County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, History Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA club was founded in Meelick, County Galway, Meelick in the 1880s, and contested the first all-Ir ...

before switching, for a short period, to

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows ( ga, Liam Ó Maoilíosa, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland ...

in Galway and

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They were Cork senior hurling champions in 2015 and 2016, havin ...

in Cork because of migration. Salmon also played with the

senior inter-county team from 1949 until 1964.

Playing career

Club

Salmon played his club

with his local club

. He also played with the

club in Cork. In all, Salmon collected five county championship medals.

Inter-county

Salmon first came to prominence with the

minor inter-county team in the 1940s. He lined out in the All-Ireland final of 1947, however,

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 ...

were the victors on that occasion. Salmon later joined the Galway senior team, however, as the county faced no competition in the

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

, the team went straight into the All-Ireland series every single year. Salmon first tasted success with Galway in 1951. That year his side reached the finals of the

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 ...

. Galway defeated

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 ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

giving Salmon a National League medal. Two years later in 1953 Galway defeated 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 ...

team in the penultimate stage of the championship. This victory allowed Salmon's side to advance to the All-Ireland final where

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 ...

provided the opposition. Galway lost the game by 3-3 to 0-8. After the match at the

Gresham Hotel Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic Star (classification)#Hotel ratings, four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which ...

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 ...

a fight broke out when another Galway player struck Cork's

Christy Ring Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979) was an Irish hurling, hurler whose National Hurling League, league and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, championship career at senior level with the Cork county hurling ...

. The following morning another fight broke out when another member of the Galway panel attempted to hit Ring. The fights, however, ended just as quickly as they had started. Five years later in 1958 Galway were given a bye into the All-Ireland final in an effort to improve the standard of hurling in the county. Tipperray provided the opposition on that occasion.

Liam Devaney Liam Devaney (1935 – 15 August 2017) was an Irish hurler. His league and championship career with the Tipperary senior team spanned fourteen seasons from 1954 until 1968. Born in Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary, Devaney was born into a strong ...

Donie Nealon Donie Nealon (born December 1935) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right corner-forward at senior level for the Tipperary county team. Born in Newtown, County Tipperary, Nealon first played competitive hurling whilst at school in ...

and

Larry Keane Laurence Keane (1931 - 16 July 2017) was an Irish hurler. At club level he played with Thurles Sarsfields and was also a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team. Career Keane first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with Thurl ...

all scored goals for Tipp in the first-half, while

Tony Wall Anthony "Tony" Wall (born 9 May 1934) is an Irish former hurler and manager who played as a centre-back at senior level for the Tipperary county team. Wall joined the team during the 1953–54 National League and was a regular member of the ...

sent a 70-yard free untouched to the Galway net. Tipp won the game by 4-9 to 2-5. This defeat saw Galway enter the

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

in 1959. Salmon retired from inter-county hurling in 1964.

Provincial

Salmon also lined out with

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in the inter-provincial hurling competition, however, he never won a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal.

References

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005)

External links

Galway GAA honours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Joe 1931 births Living people Liam Mellows hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers