Neil Montgomery (born 1998) is an Irish hurler who plays for Waterford Senior Championship club

Abbeyside Abbeyside () is a townland in Dungarvan in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the east bank of the Colligan River. History MacGrath's Castle was a notable landmark in Abbeyside, overlooking Dungarvan Harbour, until it collapsed in January ...

and at inter-county level with the

Waterford senior hurling team The Waterford county hurling team represents County Waterford, Waterford in hurling and is governed by Waterford GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual i ...

. He usually lines out as a midfielder.

Playing career

University College Cork

As a student at University College Cork, Montgomery earned selection on the university's top hurling team. He was a member of the extended panel when UCC claimed the

2019 Fitzgibbon Cup The 2019 Fitzgibbon Cup was the 103rd staging of the Fitzgibbon Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1912. It was sponsored by Electric Ireland, and known as the Electric Ireland HE GAA Fitzgibbon Cup for sponsorship ...

after a 2-21 to 0-13 defeat of Mary Immaculate College in the final. Montgomery remained a peripheral member of the team for the

2020 Fitzgibbon Cup The 2020 Fitzgibbon Cup was the 104th staging of the Fitzgibbon Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1912. It is sponsored by Electric Ireland, and known as the Electric Ireland HE GAA Fitzgibbon Cup for sponsorship pu ...

. In spite of this, he ended the campaign with a second successive Fitzgibbon Cup medal after coming on as a substitute in the 0-18 to 2-11 defeat of the Institute of Technology, Carlow in the 2020 final.

Abbeyside–Ballinacourty

Montgomery first came to prominence as a hurler with the

club, while also playing

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

with sister club

Ballinacourty Ballinacourty, officially Ballynacourty (), is a rural area and townland on the southern coast of Ireland near Dungarvan, County Waterford. Transport A magnesite factory in the area was served by the last remaining part of the Waterford-Mallo ...

. He enjoyed divisional success in both codes with the respective under-21 teams. On 7 October 2018, Montgomery was selected at right wing-forward when Abbeyside qualified for the 2018 county final against Ballygunner. He was held scoreless over the hour as Abbeyside suffered a 2-19 to 0-13 defeat.

Waterford

Minor and under-21

Montgomery first played for Waterford as a member of the minor team during the 2016 Munster Minor Championship. He made his debut in that grade on 6 April 2016 when he lined out at full-forward in a 0-17 to 1-10 defeat by

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 ...

, before ending the season without success. Montgomery was subsequently drafted onto the Waterford under-21 team, making his first appearance in a 0-23 to 1-17 defeat by Cork in the 2018 Munster semi-final. A change in the age limit meant that Montgomery was overage for the following year's championship.

Senior

Montgomery was drafted onto the Waterford senior team by new manager Liam Cahill in advance of the 2020 Munster League. He made his first competitive appearance in a 1-17 to 1-13 defeat by Cork on the opening round of the pre-season competition. Montgomery was subsequently included on Waterford's National League panel and made his first appearance in that competition in a 1-24 to 3-17 victory over Cork in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. Montgomery made his championship debut on 31 October 2020, when he came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for

Jack Fagan John Edward "Jack" Fagan (21 June 1933 – 30 November 2015) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Fagan played for Ponsonby and represented Auckland. He was part of the Auckland side that defea ...

in a 1-28 to 1-24 defeat of Cork in the Munster semi-final. He was again introduced as a substitute after starting on the bench when Waterford suffered a 0-25 to 0-21 defeat by Limerick in the 2020 Munster final. After making appearances of the bench in subsequent defeats 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 ...

and

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 ...

, Montgomery received his first starting fifteen berth when he was named at centre-forward for the 2020 All-Ireland final against Limerick.

Career statistics

Honours

;St. Augustine's College *Munster Colleges Senior C Hurling Championship (1): 2017 ;University College Cork * Fitzgibbon Cup (1):

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Neil 1998 births Living people UCC hurlers Abbeyside hurlers Ballinacourty Gaelic footballers Waterford inter-county hurlers