Maurice Leahy (born 1952 in

Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

) is 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 ...

former

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 ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former player. He played hurling with his local club

and with the

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

senior inter-county team from 1977 until 1989. Leahy later served as manager of the Kerry senior inter-county hurling team on six separate occasions.

Playing career

Club

Leahy played his club

with his local

club. He had his first major success in 1979 when he captured his first

Kerry Senior Hurling Championship The Kerry Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 for the to ...

title. It was Causeway's first championship title since 1932. Leahy added three more county medals to his collection as Causeway completed a "four-in-a-row". He won a fifth county title in 1989. In the early to mid 1970s, he played both club football and hurling in Cork. Firstly football for

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

for eight years. He also spent a year with

Newtownshandrum Newtownshandrum () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland located west of Charleville on the R515 road. The name translates from Irish to mean 'new town of the old ridge'. Historic maps from 1829–1841 and 1897–1913 identify the village ...

, with whom he won a

Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board ...

title in 1976.

Inter-county

Leahy made his senior inter-county debut with

in 1977. Kerry were the reigning All-Ireland 'B' champions when he joined the panel, however, Kerry surrendered their title. Three years later, in 1980, Leahy took on the role of player-manager in 1980. It was the beginning of a successful period for Kerry. 1983 saw Leahy collect an All-Ireland 'B' medal as the men from 'the Kingdom' defeated

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to take the title. He gave up the position of manager following that victory, however, he was reappointed as manager in 1985. The following year Leahy captured his second All-Ireland 'B' medal as player-manager. He retired from inter-county hurling in 1989. While better known as a hurler, he also played with the

senior football team during the mid 1970s.

Post-playing career

Not long after his retirement from playing, Leahy was back as manager again in 1989. His stay was a short one on this occasion and he left without success in 1990. Two years later, in 1992, Leahy served as a selector when

John Meyler John Meyler (born 1956) is an Irish hurling manager and former selector, association footballer, Gaelic footballer and hurler who is currently the manager of the Kilmoyley senior hurling team. He has formerly managed the Kerry, Wexford, Carlow ...

took charge of Kerry's hurlers. This period included victory over

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 1993 championship. Leahy remained as a selector for most of the 1990s. He returned to the top job for the fourth time in 2001. His fourth term in charge saw Kerry defeat

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

to take 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 ...

division two title. Leahy was replaced as manager again in 2002, however, he returned for another short stint in 2003. He completed his sixth term as manager between 2006 and 2007. Leahy has county championship titles with local clubs

Ballyheigue Ballyheigue ( ), officially Ballyheige ( - meaning ''Settlement of Tadhg'') is a coastal village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is approximately north of Tralee on the R551. It is a scenic locale which forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way and h ...

and

Lixnaw Lixnaw () is a village in North County Kerry, Ireland. It is located near the River Brick SW of Listowel and NE of Tralee. History Lixnaw was once the seat of the Fitzmaurice family, the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the third baron of ...

. He also managed the Kilcummin footballers as well as Causeway Comprehensive School teams with whom he won 2 All Ireland Vocational Schools title in 2009 and 2010. He also managed the Tralee IT Sigerson Cup team in 2008.

External links

Profile of Maurice and D.J. Leahy
* http://www.sportsfile.com/id/059258/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Maurice 1952 births Living people Causeway hurlers Newtownshandrum hurlers Clonakilty Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county hurlers Hurling managers