Michael Conneely (born 14 June 1949) is an Irish former hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the

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 ...

senior team. Born in

Bullaun A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is high ...

, County Galway, Conneely first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-five when he made his senior debut with Galway in the 1974 championship. Conneely went on to play a key role for Galway, 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 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. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions. As a member of the

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 ...

inter-provincial team at various times, Conneely enjoyed little success in the

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. At club level he was a one-time

medallist with Sarfields. In addition to this he also won one

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. Throughout his career, Conneely made 14 championship appearances for Galway. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1981 championship. After retiring from playing, Conneely became involved in team management and coaching. At club level he managed Sarsfields to back-to-back

titles. Conneely later served as manager of the

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

and

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 ...

senior teams.

Playing career

Club

In 1980 Sarsfields qualified for the final of senior championship for the first time in history, with Conneely lining out as goalkeeper. The accurate free-taking of Michael Mulkerrins secured a narrow 0–11 to 0–9 defeat of

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 ...

and a

Galway Senior Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for th ...

medal for Connelly. He later added a

medal to his collection following a convincing 4–12 to 0–5 defeat of Tremane.

Inter-county

Conneely made his senior championship debut for Galway on 21 July 1974 in a 3–13 to 0–6 defeat of

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 ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final. In 1975 Galway made a long-awaited breakthrough. A 4–9 to 4–6 defeat of

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 ...

gave Conneely a

medal. Galway later qualified for an All-Ireland final meeting with reigning champions

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 ...

, their first appearance in the championship decider in seventeen years and the very first seventy-minute final. Playing with the wind in the first half, Galway found themselves 0–9 to 1–3 down at the interval having played poorly. Early in the second half Kilkenny scored an early 1–3 to put this game to bed, and although Galway did reply with 1–1 and were only four points behind with twenty-five minutes left on the clock, there was never any doubt in this match. Galway were eventually defeated by 2–22 to 2–10. After being replaced in goal by

Séamus Shinnors James N. Shinnors''s (born 1945) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Newport and with the Tipperary and Galway senior inter-county teams in the 1970s. Early life Séamus Shinnors was born in Newport, Cou ...

for the 1979 championship, Conneely was back as custodian in 1980 as Galway reached the All-Ireland decider once again.

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

provided the opposition on this occasion and an exciting championship decider followed.

Bernie Forde Bernie Forde (born 5 November 1957) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Galway senior team. Born in Ardrahan, County Galway, Forde first played competitive hurling in his youth. He made his first impressio ...

and P. J. Molloy goals for Galway meant that the men from the west led by 2–7 to 1–5 at half-time.

Éamonn Cregan Éamonn Cregan (born 21 May 1945) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, hurler and manager. He is best remembered for his success with Limerick, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager of various club and inter-county teams in the 1980s a ...

single-handedly launched the Limerick counter-attack in the second-half. Over the course of the game he scored 2–7, including an overhead goal and a point in which he showed the ball to full-back

Conor Hayes Conor Hayes (born 11 May 1958) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-back at senior level for the Galway county team. Born in Kiltormer, County Galway, Hayes first played competitive hurling in his youth. He made his first impressi ...

and nonchalantly drove the ball over the bar. It was not enough to stem the tide and Galway went on to win the game by 2–15 to 3–9. It was Galway's first All-Ireland title since 1923, with Conneely picking up a winners' medal. 1981 saw Galway reach a third consecutive All-Ireland final and

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

were the opponents. Everything seemed to be going well for Conneely's side as Galway hoped to capture a second consecutive All-Ireland title. Offaly keeper

Damien Martin Damien Martin (born 2 October 1946) is an Irish former hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Offaly senior hurling team. Born in Banagher, County Offaly, Martin first arrived on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Off ...

was doing great work in batting out an almost certain Galway goal early in the second-half. With twenty-three minutes left in the game Galway led by six points, however, they failed to score for the rest of the game.

Johnny Flaherty Johnny Flaherty (born 1949 in Kinnitty, County Offaly) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Kinnitty and with the Offaly senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. Playing career Club Flaherty played his c ...

hand-passed Offaly's second goal with just three minutes remaining. At the long whistle Galway were defeated by 2–12 to 0–15.

Managerial career

Sarsfields

Conneely began his coaching career at club level with Sarsfields. In 1992 he guided the club to the final of the county championship where they faced

Carnmore Carnmore () is an electoral area located at the southern end of the parish of Claregalway, approximately east of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Carnmore is in a Gaeltacht area, although the majority of residents use English as their ...

. After being seven points down at one stage, Carnmore staged a seven-point comeback to level the match and force a replay. At the second time of asking Sarfields claimed the championship title by 1–14 to 1–5. Conneely later guided the club to the Connacht title, following a 2–15 to 0–7 defeat of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

. The subsequent All-Ireland decider pitted Sarsfields against

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...

. The Galway champions edged into a 0–11 to 1–1 half-time lead, but in the second half Kilmallock staged a mini revival scoring 1–1, but that was as good as it got for the Limerick side. A 1–17 to 2–7 victory gave Sarsfields the

title. Sarsfields retained their championship title in 1993, following a 1–10 to 0–4 defeat of Carnmore once again.

Four Roads Four Roads is a village in Saint Philip in Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of ...

fell by 5–12 to 0–7 in the subsequent provincial decider. Once again Sarsfields reached the All-Ireland final, with Tipp champions

Toomevara Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The village is at the junction on the R445 where it meets the R499 regional road. The village was bypassed in December 2010 by the M7 Dublin - Limerick motorway. It ...

providing the opposition. Conneely's side trailed by 2–4 to 0–4 at the interval, however, Sarsfields staged a stunning second-half comeback. The Galway club drew level early in the second half before Toomevara goaled again, and with five minutes remained things looked good for Toomevara leading 3–6 to 0–12. Michael Kenny goaled for Sarsfields and a 65-metre free from Aidan Donohue sealed a 1–14 to 3–6 victory.

Roscommon

Conneely was appointed manager of the

senior team in 1998. His two-year tenure in charge saw little in terms of success, as Roscommon were defeated by Galway in the provincial series. In 2005 Conneely returned for a second stint as Roscommon manager. It was a disappointing year for Roscommon as the team, having lost all their

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...

group stage matches, were eventually relegated to the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishin ...

Westmeath

In 2001 Conneely took over as manager of the

senior team. His two years in charge brought little in terms of success, as Westmeath made little progress in the Leinster series of games.

Honours

Player

;Sarsfields *

Connacht Senior Club Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Club Hurling Championship was an annual hurling tournament played between the senior hurling clubs in Connacht contested from 1970 until 2007 when it was discontinued due to a lack of meaningful opposition for the Galway cham ...

(1): 1980 *

Galway Senior Club Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for th ...

(1): 1980 ;Galway *

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):

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

(1): 1974–75

Player

;Sarsfields *

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

(2): 1993, 1994 *

(2): 1992, 1993 *

(2): 1992, 1993

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conneely, Michael 1949 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship winning managers Sportspeople from County Galway Sarsfields (Galway) hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Hurling managers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners