Phil Purcell (13 November 1902 – 2 February 1961) 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 for his local club Moycarkey–Borris and at senior level for the Tipperary county team from 1926 until 1937.

Playing career

Club

Purcell played his club

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

with his local club Moycarkey–Borris and enjoyed much success. He won his first senior county title in 1932. It was the first of four county victories for Purcell, the other three coming in 1934, 1937 and 1940.

Inter-county

Purcell began his inter-county hurling career at a time when there was no minor hurling championship. He first came to prominence with the

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 ...

junior team in the early 1920s. He was captain of the team in 1924 as Tipp captured the

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 ...

junior title. Purcell later captured an

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 ...

junior title as Tipperary defeated

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 the final. Purcell later joined the Tipperary senior team and made his debut in 1926. It was a time when

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 ...

were dominating the provincial championship. Purcell, however, first tasted major success sin 1928 as Tipp defeated

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 ...

to take the

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 ...

title. Two years later in 1930 Purcell lined out against

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 ...

in the Munster final. It was Tipperary’s first appearance in the provincial decider in four years; however, they hadn’t won the title in five years. Purcell’s side were the dominant side for the whole game and went on to win by 6-4 to 2-8. It was his first

senior title. Tipp later defeated Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, setting up a championship 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 ...

. Two goals just before half-time gave Tipp the edge and the team hung on to win by 2-7 to 1-3. It was Purcell’s first and only

medal. Tipperary went into decline following this victory as

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 ...

became the dominant force in Munster. Purcell retired from inter-county hurling in 1937, shortly before Tipp reclaimed the provincial and All-Ireland titles.

Provincial

Purcell also lined out with

in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He first played for his province in the second year of the

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 ...

competition in 1928. On that occasion he collected his first winners’ medal as Munster defeated

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 ...

. Coughlan remained on the team and helped Munster to capture a further four titles in-a-row in 1929, 1930 and 1931 when he captained the side. Purcell captured a fifth Railway Cup medal in 1934.

References

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).

External links

Munster final winning teams

Tipperary GAA honours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Phil 1902 births 1961 deaths All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final referees All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Hurling referees Moycarkey-Borris hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers