Offaly County Hurling Team
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The Offaly county hurling team represents
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 h ...
in hurling and is governed by
Offaly GAA The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Uíbh Fhailí) or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly. Sepa ...
, the
county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...
of the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
. The team competes in the Joe McDonagh Cup and the National Hurling League. Offaly's home ground is
O'Connor Park O'Connor Park ( ga, Páirc Uí Chonchúir) is a GAA stadium in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. It is one of the principal grounds of the Offaly GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams. It is known for sponsorship reasons as Bord na Móna ...
,
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...
. The team's manager is Johnny Kelly. The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1995, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and the National League in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
.


History

After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly was one of the first teams to benefit. As a result, the county won six
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...
titles in the 1980s, as well as its first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981. The county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final."
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 ...
looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3–16 to 2–13. In the
1998 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1998 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness Hurling Championship 1998) was the 112th staging of Ireland's premier hurling competition. Offaly won the championship, beating Kilkenny 2–16 ...
semi-final, Offaly defeated All-Ireland champions Clare in a second replay. Offaly had lost the first replay after referee Jimmy Cooney blew for full-time too early, leading Offaly fans to blockade the pitch in protest. Offaly conceded a walkover to Kildare in the
2020 Christy Ring Cup The 2020 Christy Ring Cup was the 16th staging of the Christy Ring Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the third tier of hurling as of 2020. London were scheduled to compete in the ...
after an outbreak of COVID-19 forced "almost every member" of the panel into isolation due to
Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...
(HSE) advice that they were "close contacts". Later in the same competition, in the semi-final, Down knocked Offaly out in a first ever inter-county hurling penalty shootout.


Current panel

INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
RET Player has since retired from the county team.
WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.


Current management team

*
Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
: Johnny Kelly, appointed head of the 2023 season *
Selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a per ...
s:
Barry Teehan Baz Teehan (born 1982) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Offaly county team. Teehan joined the team during the 2001 National League and immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen. During ...
(
Coolderry Coolderry () is a small roadside village in southern County Offaly, Ireland. It is located 8 kilometres north of Roscrea and 11 kilometres south of Birr. The village lies close to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Places of note include Gloster Hou ...
) *Performance coach:
Brendan Maher Brendan Maher (born 5 January 1989) is an Irish Hurling, hurler who plays for club side Borris–Ileigh GAA, Borris–Ileigh and previously at inter-county level with the Tipperary senior hurling team. Regarded as one of the great talents of hi ...
( Borris-Ileigh, Tipperary) *
Goalkeeping coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...
:
Colm Callanan Colm Callanan (born 18 July 1982) is an Irish hurler who plays for Galway Senior Championship club Kinvara. He played for the Galway senior hurling team for 12 years, during which time he lined out as a goalkeeper. Born in Kinvara, County Ga ...
( Kinvara, Galway) *Other backroom: Martin Maher (Brendan's brother)


Managerial history

Offaly have a history of appointing "foreign" managers. In 2016, the former
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 ...
hurler Kevin Ryan became Offaly's ninth "foreign" manager in a quarter of a century.
Andy Gallagher Andrew Gallagher (born 1936) is an Irish retired hurler, manager and Gaelic games administrator. His league and championship career with the Offaly senior team lasted fourteen seasons from 1955 until 1969. Honours Player ;Tullamore * Offaly ...
1976–1983
Dermot Healy Dermot Healy (9 November 1947 – 29 June 2014) was an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer. A member of Aosdána, Healy was also part of its governing body, the Toscaireacht. Born in Finea, County Westmeath, he lived in ...
1983–1986 Georgie Leahy 1986–1988 P. J. Whelahan 1988–1989 Paudge Mulhare 1989–1990
Pádraig Horan Pádraig Horan (born 21 April 1950) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward for the Offaly senior hurling team. Horan made his first appearance for the team during the 1968–69 National League and subsequently became a regular ...
1990–1992
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 ...
1992–1996 John McIntyre 1996–1997
Babs Keating Michael "Babs" Keating (born 17 April 1944) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a forward for the Tipperary senior teams. Born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Keating first played competitive Gaelic games during his ...
1997–1998
Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...
1998–1999
Pat Fleury Patrick "Pat" Fleury (born 18 May 1956) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right corner-back for the Offaly senior hurling team. Born in Drumcullen, County Offaly, Fleury first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Presenta ...
1999–2000
Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...
(2) 2000–2001 Tom Fogarty 2001–2002
Mike McNamara Michael McNamara (born 1949) is an Irish former hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club Scariff from the 1960s until the 1980s. McNamara is also a publican and night club owner in Scariff and served as manager ...
2002–2004 John McIntyre (2) 2004–2007
Joe Dooley Joe Dooley (born 13 November 1963) is an Irish former hurler and manager. Dooley enjoyed a successful playing career at club level with Seir Kieran and is the only Offaly player ever to have won three All-Ireland titles. After a spell as pl ...
2007–2011
Ollie Baker Oliver Baker (born 14 July 1974) is an Irish former hurler who played as a midfielder for the Clare senior hurling team. Baker made his first appearance for the team during the 1994–95 National League and became a regular member of the sta ...
2011–2013
Brian Whelahan Brian Whelahan (born 23 August 1971) is an Irish former hurler who played as a left wing-back at senior level for the Offaly county team. Born in Banagher, County Offaly, Whelahan first played competitive hurling whilst at school in St Brend ...
2013–2015
Éamonn Kelly Éamonn Kelly (born 1968) is an Irish hurler who played as a full-forward for the Tipperary junior hurling team. Born in Puckane, County Tipperary, Kelly first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up w ...
2015–2016 Kevin Ryan 2016–2017 Kevin Martin 2017–2019
Joachim Kelly Joachim Kelly (born 2 December 1955) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is manager of the Offaly senior hurling team. Kelly played for club side Lusmagh and was a member of the Offaly senior hurling team for 19 seasons, during ...
2019** Michael Fennelly 2019–2022 Johnny Kelly Portumna 2022– **=In a caretaker role


Players


Notable players


Records


Most appearances


Top scorers


All Stars


Colours and crest


Kit evolution


Team sponsorship

The food company Carroll's of Tullamore sponsored Offaly since the GAA first permitted shirt sponsorship deals in 1991 until 2021. It was the sport's longest running shirt sponsor. In 2022, Glenisk became the County's Camogie, Football and Hurling sponsors, with them becoming the Ladies Football sponsors in 2023 once their current sponsorship with CMG closes. Professional golfer
Shane Lowry Shane Lowry (born 2 April 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, and the 2015 WGC-Bridg ...
and Offaly announced a five-year partnership in April 2021.


Honours


National

* All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship ** Winners (4):
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
,
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
** Runners-up (3):
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
* Christy Ring Cup ** Winners (1):
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
*
All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship The All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship was a hurling competition organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland. The competition was originally contested by the second teams of the strong counties, and the first teams of the weaker ...
** Winners (2): 1923, 1929 * All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship ** Runners-up (3): 1989, 1991, 1992 * National Hurling League ** Winners (1):
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
** Runners-up (2): 1980–81, 1987–88 * National Hurling League Division 2 ** Winners (4): 1966,
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, 2005, 2009 * National Hurling League Division 2A ** Winners (1):
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
*
All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). I ...
** Winners (3): 1986, 1987, 1989 ** Runners-up (1): 2022


Provincial

*
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...
** Winners (9): 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995 ** Runners-up (14): 1901, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1969, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 *
Leinster Junior Hurling Championship The Leinster Junior Hurling Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Hurling played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council. The winners of the Leinster Junior Hu ...
** Winners (7): 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1938, 1953 *
Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling All-Ireland Under-20 Championship known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the hig ...
** Winners (5): 1978, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2000 *
Leinster Minor Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...
** Winners (5): 1986, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2022 * Walsh Cup ** Winners (5): 1977, 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994 *
Kehoe Cup The Kehoe Cup ( ; ga, Corn Mhic Eochaidh) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA) since 1977 for second- and third-tier inter-county teams in the province of Leinster in Irel ...
** Winners (1):
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
*U16 arrabawn all Ireland hurling division A shield: 1 ** 2016 *U17 Celtic challenge division 1 shield: 1 ** 2016


References

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