M. J. "Inky" Flaherty (27 September 1917 – 20 May 1992) 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 at senior level for the Galway county team from 1936 until 1953, and was also a noted boxer. Flaherty trained the Galway hurling team in the 1950s, and again in the 1970s, leading the side to league success in 1975. Starting out playing hurling for the

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows ( ga, Liam Ó Maoilíosa, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Irelan ...

club, Flaherty went on to spend most of his inter-club days representing

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

in both hurling and football. Also contributing as a coach and referee, his lifelong dedication to the GAA was recognised in 1989 when he was presented with a GAA All-Time All-Star Award. The currently uncontested Connacht Senior Hurling Championship was named in his honour.

Playing career

A native of

Bohermore Bohermore () is an area of Galway, Ireland. It got this name as it was the main road into Galway City from the east in medieval times. There is a large cemetery located in Bohermore known as the "New Cemetery", which contains two mortuary chape ...

Galway city Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Inky played in his first county championship final for Liam Mellows in 1935. Only 17 years old, he scored three goals, helping Mellows to their first county senior hurling title. After moving to

in 1940 for work purposes, Flaherty joined St Brigid's hurling team, Ballinasloe, which made the transition to senior level that same year. With Ballinasloe he reached another county championship final in 1943, but was denied the win by his former club, Liam Mellows. He finally got a county hurling medal with Ballinasloe when they won the championship in 1951. Flaherty played inter-county hurling for Galway from 1936 to 1953, captaining the side to a National Hurling League title in 1951 in New York. He also won a Railway Cup (inter-provincial) medal with

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 Del ...

in 1947.

Refereeing career

Flaherty was also a referee, regularly officiating club and county matches at different levels throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He refereed the 1949 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, a clash between

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 ...

and

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

, which saw Tipp winning the first of three consecutive titles by a scoreline of 3–11 to 0–3. At the age of 32, Flaherty was yet to contest a hurling final of his own.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaherty, Michael John 1917 births 1992 deaths All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final referees Ballinasloe hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Hurling referees Irish nurses Liam Mellows hurlers Psychiatric nurses Health professionals from County Galway