John Holohan (11 November 1890 – 19 May 1947) 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 full-back 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 Johnstown,

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 ...

, Holohan first excelled at cricket before turning to hurling. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-three when made his senior debut in a tournament game. Holohan went on to play a key part for Kilkenny over the next decade, and 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 and four

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 Holohan won four

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, playing with a variety of clubs including Crosspatrick, Johnstown and

Tullaroan Tullaroan () is a village in the western part of County Kilkenny in the Slieveardagh Hills near the County Tipperary, Tipperary border. Tullaroan is also the name of the local civil parish. Sport Tullaroan GAA are the most successful Gaelic Ath ...

. Holohan's retirement came prior to the start of the 1926 championship.

Playing career

Club

Holohan first played club hurling in 1910 with Crosspatrick. By 1912 he was playing with Johnstown and, two years later, lined out in his first championship decider. Erin's Own provided the opposition, however, they provided little opposition and failed to score. Johnstown registered 3-1, giving Holohan his first

medal. Holohan transferred to the Tulalroan club in 1915, a decision which resulted in him lining out in a second successive county decider. A 7-2 to 2-2 trouncing of Dicksboro gave him a second championship medal. A period of political instability in

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 ...

over the next decade led to the county championship either being delayed, unfinished or suspended. In 1924 Holohan lined out in his third county decider. Tullaroan defeated Clonmanto by 4-4 to 2-2, giving him a third championship medal. Tullaroan retained their title in 1925. A narrow 3-4 to 3-3 defeat of Dicksboro gave Holohan a fourth and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Holohan was first selected for Kilkenny in February 1915 for the semi-final of the Wolfe Tone Tournament. In 1916 Holohan was a key member of the Kilkenny team that made a breakthrough in the championship. An 11-3 to 2-2 trouncing of

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 gave him his first

medal. On 21 January 1917 Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Kilkenny, however, were not the force they once were, having won seven All-Ireland titles in the previous decade, and a 5-4 to 3-2 score line resulted in victory for Tipperary. Kilkenny went into decline following this defeat, however, Holohan remained on the team, losing four provincial deciders over the next few years. In 1922 Kilkenny bounced back. A 3-4 to 1-2 halted Dublin's march to a fourth successive provincial title, and gave Holohan a second Leinster medal. On 9 September 1923 Kilkenny faced old rivals Tipperary in the All-Ireland decider in front of a crowd of over 26,000 at

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 ...

. For long periods of the game Tipperary held the lead, and with three minutes to go they were three points to the good. Two late goals by

Paddy Donoghue Patrick Donoghue (13 November 1891 – 18 September 1967) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-forward for the Kilkenny senior team. Hackett made his first appearance for the team during the 1917 championship and was a regular member ...

and Dick Tobin secured a 4-2 to 2-6 victory for Kilkenny and an

medal for Holohan. Kilkenny retained their provincial crown in 1923. A 4-1 to 1-1 defeat of Dublin gave Holohan a third Leinster medal. On 18 May 1924 Kilkenny were defeated on a 5-4 to 2-0 score line by eventual All-Ireland champions

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 ...

in the semi-final. Holohan won a fourth and final Leinster medal in 1925, albeit in controversial circumstances. Dublin had actually won the game by 6-4 to 4-7, however, a successful objection by Kilkenny resulted in "the Cats" being awarded the title. On 9 August 1925 Kilkenny faced a 9-4 to 6-0 defeat by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. In May 1926 Holohan was selected on the panel for Kilkenny's final

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 ...

game against

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. Though he attended the game he did not tog out as he did not expect he would be used. His failure to do so later became the subject of a bitter dispute between the Tullaroan club and the Chairman of the Kilkenny County Board. Holohan decided to retire from hurling prior to Kilkenny's opening game in the subsequent championship.

Honours

Team

;Johnstown *

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 ...

(1): 1914 ;Tullaroan *

(3): 1915, 1924, 1925 ;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 ...

(1):

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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 ...

(4):

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holohan, John 1890 births 1947 deaths Johnstown hurlers Tullaroan hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners People from Johnstown, County Kilkenny