Liam Reidy (1924 – 15 February 2007) was an Irish 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 ...

with his local club Éire Óg and was a member of 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 inter-county team from the 1940s until the 1950.

Biography

Liam Reidy was born in

Kilmacow Kilmacow ( — otherwise known in Irish as ''Cill Mhic Bhúith'') is a small village and townland in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Geography Situated about 7 km (4 mi) south of Mullinavat and 8 km (5 mi) north from Waterford Ci ...

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 ...

in 1924. He was educated at the local national school and later attended the famed

St. Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passi ...

, a virtual nursery for young hurling talent. Here Reidy began his hurling career in earnest and collected a Leinster junior colleges' championship medal with St Kieran's. Following his education Reidy was the founder of the highly successful Reidy Insurance Business on Parliament Street in Kilkenny.

Playing career

Club

Reidy played his club hurling with his local Éire Óg club and enjoyed much success. The 1940s saw Éire Óg enjoy some great victories, with Reidy winning three

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

titles in four years.

Inter-county

Reidy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the

minor hurling team in the early 1940s. He won a

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 ...

title in this grade in 1942 following a 3-10 to 0-4 defeat 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 ...

, however, the subsequent All-Ireland series of games were later suspended. In 1945 Reidy was a key member of the Kilkenny senior team. That year he won his first

winners' medal, however, he didn't line out in the subsequent All-Ireland final.

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 ...

provided the opposition on that occasion. Almost 70,000 people packed into

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 ...

to witness a classic encounter, with 5,000 more fans being locked out of the stadium. Tipp took the lead at half-time, however, Kilkenny fought back with three second-half goals. In spite of this Tipp held on to win the game by 5-6 to 3-6. Reidy missed Kilkenny's Leinster final triumph in 1946, however, he was back on the team for the All-Ireland final with Cork. The game itself pitted Cork against old rivals Kilkenny for the first time since 1939. Two quick goals just before half-time put Cork in the driving seat. Five more goals followed in the second period as Cork were the 7-5 to 3-8 winners. Reidy won a second Leinster title following a defeat of

in 1947. The All-Ireland final was a repeat of the previous year as Cork and Kilkenny did battle again. In what has been described by many as the greatest hurling decider of all-time

Mossy O'Riordan Maurice Francis "Mossy" O'Riordan (1926 - 27 August 2008) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Cork senior team. Born in Blackrock, County Cork, O'Riordan first played with the Cork senior team at the age of twenty ...

and Joe Kelly scored two goals that almost won the game for Cork. Kilkenny, however, fought back with

Terry Leahy Sir Terence Patrick "Terry" Leahy (born 28 February 1956) is a British businessman, previously the CEO of Tesco, the largest British retailer and the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. He now lives in Cuffley, Hertfordsh ...

and

Jim Langton James Langton (18 January 1918 – 18 April 1987) was an Irish hurler who usually played as a left wing-forward for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in Gowran, County Kilkenny, Phelan first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Kilke ...

leading the charge and eventually won the game by 'the usual point' on a score line of 0-14 to 2-7. It was Reidy's first, and only, All-Ireland winners' medal. 1950 saw Reidy win a third Leinster title. He later line dout in another All-Ireland final, however, on this occasion Tipperary won the game by a single point. Following this defeat Reidy's involvement at inter-county level ended.

Provincial

Reidy also line dout with

in the inter-provincial hurling competition, however, due to

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 ...

's domination 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.

Retirement

On taking up golf in 1951 Reidy quickly proved his skill at the game by getting his handicap down to four within a few years and by winning the club match-play championship twice in those years. He represented the club on two Barton Cup winning sides, in 1953 and 1966, and in between also played on the Provincial Towns Cup winning team in 1955. Perhaps his greatest triumph came in 1957 when he won the Waterford Glass Trophy (Scratch Cup) from an elite field. Reidy served as honorary secretary of Kilkenny Golf Club for a number of years, became captain of the club in 1970 and was honoured with the club presidency in the years 1985-86. He became the first Kilkenny member elected to the Leinster branch of the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) and was treasurer of the branch for some years before being elected chairman in 1987. This led to his selection as president of the GUI in 1992, a position which he filled with style and distinction. During that year Reidy presided over the third successive win for the Irish team in the Home International Championship.

Teams

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reidy, Liam 1924 births 2007 deaths Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Éire Óg (Kilkenny) hurlers