Michael John "Micka" Brennan (29 September 1914 – 29 November 1987) 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 left corner-forward for the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

senior team. Brennan joined the team during the 1932 championship and subsequently became a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement during the 1944 championship. During that time he won two

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 ...

medals, two

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 ...

medals and two

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

medals. Brennan was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. At club level Brennan was a one-time county club championship medalist with Sarsfields.

Playing career

Club

Brennan played his club hurling with Sarsfield's and had much success during a lengthy career. Having won a minor championship medal in 1931, Brennan subsequently became a key member of the club's senior team. In 1951 Sarsfields qualified for a senior championship decider against four-in-a-row hopefuls

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They were Cork senior hurling champions in 2015 and 2016, having w ...

. A 5-8 to 3-7 for the underdogs gave Brennan a

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

medal.

Inter-county

Brennan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1931. He enjoyed two seasons in this grade but had little success as Cork exited the provincial championship at an early stage in both years. While still a member of the minor grade in 1932 Brennan joined the Cork junior hurling team. He was in the fill-forward line for the provincial decider and a 1-4 to 1-2 defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

gave him a

medal. Brennan also joined the Cork senior hurling team in 1932 but was an unused substitute for two championships. He made his debut in 1935 in a Munster quarter-final 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 ...

. In 1939 Cork made a breakthrough in the provincial championship after nearly a decade in the doldrums. A narrow 4-3 to 3-4 defeat of

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 ...

gave Cork the title and gave Brennan his first

medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Cork against

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 ...

. In one of the most iconic championship deciders of all-time, played on the day that

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out, the climax of which was played in a ferocious thunder storm. While a draw looked likely as the hour drew to a close

Paddy Phelan Patrick Phelan (16 September 1910 – 7 December 1971) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in Freshford, County Kilkenny, Phelan arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one whe ...

sent a seventy-yard free in towards the Cork goalmouth. The sliotar was gobbled up by the defence and cleared, but only as far as Jimmy Kelly who sent it straight over the bar for a one-point lead. Immediately after the puck-out the referee blew the whistle and Cork were defeated on a score line of 2-7 to 3-3. Although defeated in the All-Ireland decider, Cork continued their breakthrough in 1940. An 8-9 to 6-4 defeat of Tipperary in the decider gave Brennan his first

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 added a second winners' medal to his collection in 1941 following a 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 ...

. An outbreak of

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

severely hampered the 1941 championship. As a result of this Cork were nominated to represent the province in the All-Ireland series. Brennan lined out in the forwards for the final against Dublin, however, it turned into a one-sided affair thanks to contributing goals from

Johnny Quirke John Quirke (2 May 1911 – 24 August 1983) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Cork senior team. Quirke made his first appearance for the team during the 1932 championship and was a regular member of the startin ...

and Ted O'Sullivan. At the full-time whistle Cork had won by 5-11 to 0-6. It was one of the most one-sided championship deciders of all-time, however, it did give Brennan an

medal. Having played no part in the 1942 championship, a 2-13 to 3-8 defeat of

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 1943 gave Brennan a second Munster medal. He later lined out in a third All-Ireland decider with Antrim becoming the first Ulster side to qualify for a final. Unfortunately, the occasion got to the Glensmen as Cork built up an unassailable 3-11 to 0-2 half-time lead. The final score of 5-16 to 0-4 gave Cork their second-ever hat-trick of All-Ireland titles while it also gave Brennan a second All-Ireland medal. Brennan played his championship game for Cork in an All-Ireland semi-final defeat of

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 ...

in 1944. He was recalled for a tournament game against

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 medie ...

in 1951 and scored six goals in the process.

Inter-provincial

Brennan also had the honour of being selected for

in the inter-provincial series of games. He made his debut with the province in 1935 and was a regular until his retirement in 1940. In 1935 Brennan faced defeat to

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 ...

in the inter-provincial decider. Munster were also downed by their fierce rivals again the following year. A third successive inter-provincial decider between Leinster and Munster occurred in 1937. A 1-9 to 3-1 victory gave Brennan his first

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. After being dropped from the panel the following year, Brennan was back with Munster in 1939. Successive defeat of Leinster gave Brennan another two Railway Cup medals.

Honours

Team

;Ballincollig *

(1): 1951 *Cork Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1931 ;Cork *

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 ...

(2):

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(2):

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

(2): 1939-40, 1940-41 *

Munster Junior Hurling Championship The Munster Junior Hurling Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Hurling played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council. The winners of the Munster Junior Hurling Ch ...

(1): 1932 ;Munster *

(3): 1937, 1939, 1940

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Micka 1914 births 1987 deaths Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners