Liam Dowling (25 January 1931 – 20 November 1996) was an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward for the

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 ...

senior team. Dowling made his first appearance for the team during the 1952 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen at various intervals for much of the next decade. During that time he won two All-Ireland medals, two

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 ...

medals 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. At club level Dowling is a county senior championship medalist with Sarsfields. He also played with

Castlemartyr Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6&n ...

Playing career

Club

Dowling began his club hurling career with his local

club. In 1951 he won his first county junior championship with the club following a 6-5 to 2-7 defeat of

Cloughduv Cloghduv or Cloghduff ( ; ) is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It has a population of 360 people. The main industry is agriculture, although it is also a commuter village for Cork City. Cloughduv is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork Nor ...

. Dowling won further divisional titles with the club before moving to the Sarsfields club in the mid-fifties. 'Sars' secured the county senior championship in 1957. The 1960s saw Dowling switch his club allegiance back to Castlemartyr once again. He won a second county junior championship with the club in 1964, as Cloughduv were accounted for once again.

Inter-county

Dowling first came to prominence with the

senior hurlers in the early 1950s. He won his first

title as a full-forward in 1952. Dowling later collected his first All-Ireland medal following a victory over

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 ...

in the championship decider. Cork continued their winning ways in 1953 with Dowling adding a

medal to his collection. He later collected his second Munster title before later winning a second All-Ireland medal, following Cork’s defeat of

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 one of the dirtiest All-Ireland finals ever.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Liam 1931 births 1996 deaths Castlemartyr hurlers Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners