Michael Kenny (1893 – 25 June 1959) 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 as a midfielder 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 from 1922 until 1924. Kenny made his first appearance for the team during the 1921 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen for the next three seasons. During that time he 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. An All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion, Kenny captained Galway to their first All-Ireland title in 1923. At club level Kenny was a five-time county club championship medalist with

Tynagh Tynagh () is a village and electoral division in south-east County Galway in Ireland. Origin of the name Recorded as ''Tyneaach'' (1565), ''Teacneaghe'' (1543), ''Theaneac'' (1541), its current name is a contraction of Teach nEachach, 'Eochu's ...

Playing career

Club

Kenny played his club hurling with

and enjoyed much success during a lengthy career. After losing back-to-back championship deciders in 1918 and 1919, Tynagh qualified for a third successive county final in 1920. A defeat of Kilconieron gave Kenny his first

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 ...

medal. After the suspension of the championship the following year, Tynagh reached the county decider once again in 1922.

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 o ...

were defeated on that occasion with Kenny winning a second championship medal. Tynagh made it two-in-a-row in 1923 with Kenny adding a third medal to his collection following a defeat of

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

. Once again the championship was suspended in 1924, however, Tynagh continued their dominance on its resumption by reaching the county final again in 1925.

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a town and townland in County Galway, Ireland. Name The name Craughwell is also used as a surname, properly '' Ó Creachmhaoil'', though often anglicised as ''Craughwell'', ''Croughwell'' and ...

were defeated on this occasion as Kenny won his fourth championship medal. After two years of no championship activity, Tynagh defeated Peterswell in the championship decider of 1928. It was Kenny's fifth and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Kenny first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Galway senior team as captain in 1921. He enjoyed little success in his first two years on the team, however, Galway gave a good account of themselves in a narrow defeat by

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 ...

in the 1922 All-Ireland semi-final. In 1923 Kenny was captain as Galway qualified for their first All-Ireland final in thirty-six years. After beating 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 ...

at the penultimate stage, Galway now faced

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 ...

who were bidding for a third All-Ireland title in seven years. A high-scoring game developed, however, at half-time the sides were level. A hat-trick of goals by Leonard McGrath and powerful displays by

Mick Gill Michael Gill (22 September 1899 – 21 September 1980) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Galway and Dublin senior teams from 1922 until 1938. Gill made his first championship appearance during the 1922 championship ...

and

Mick Derivan Michael Dervan (19 May 1898 – 3 April 1981) was an Irish hurler. Usually lining out at corner-back, he was a member of the Galway team that won the 1923 All-Ireland Championship. Dervan enjoyed a club career with Tynagh Tynagh () is a ...

helped Galway to a 7-3 to 4-5 victory. It was a first

medal for Kenny, while he also had the honour of being the first Galwayman to lift the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the main competition in the prehistoric sport of hurling. Based on the design of a ...

. Kenny was Galway captain again in 1924. That year he guided the team to a second successive All-Ireland decider with

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 ...

providing the opposition. Galway played with the wind in the first-half and led by three points at the break. Two goals by Dublin forward

Garrett Howard Garrett Howard (10 December 1899 – 20 January 1995) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back for the Limerick, Dublin and Tipperary senior teams. Born in Patrickswell, County Limerick, Howard first arrived on the inter-county scene ...

and a great goalkeeping display by

Tommy Daly Thomas Daly (15 September 1894 – 21 September 1936) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Tulla in Clare and Collegians in Dublin. Daly also played hurling at inter-county level with both Cla ...

ensured a 5-3 to 2-6 defeat for Galway. Kenny retired from inter-county hurling following this defeat.

Personal life

Born in

Duniry Duniry is a small village between Tynagh and Abbey, in County Galway, Ireland. Nearby is the townland of Limehill, the south of which has a bog. Duniry's most noted landmark was Egan's castle, now derelict; it flourished from 1450 to 1600 and ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Kenny was one of a family of ten consisting of six boys and four girls. He was educated locally and later worked at Larkin's Shop in Lisheen. He later moved to

to work in the business of fellow inter-county hurler

Ignatius Harney James Ignatius Harney (16 February 1903 – 1 September 1954) was an Irish hurler who played for his local club Tynagh and at senior level for the Galway county team from 1920 until 1934. Playing career Club Harney played his club hurling wi ...

. Kenny later received a

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

farm in

Portumna Portumna ( - meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shanno ...

. Kenny married a

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 ...

native, however, she died young leaving him with three daughters. He remarried and had two more daughters during his second marriage. Mick Kenny died on 25 June 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Mick 1893 births 1959 deaths Tynagh hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners