Pierce Grace (7 September 1885 – 4 October 1966) 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 ...

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 ...

er and hurler. His championship career as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

with the

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 ...

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 ...

senior teams spanned nine seasons from 1906 until 1914. Born in

Tullaroan Tullaroan () is a village in the western part of County Kilkenny in the Slieveardagh Hills near the County Tipperary, Tipperary border. Tullaroan is also the name of the local civil parish. Sport Tullaroan GAA are the most successful Gaelic Ath ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Grace was one of eleven children born to Nicholas and Kate Grace (née Keoghan). Raised on the family farm, he was educated locally before attending St. Joseph's CBS and St. Kieran's College. Grace subsequently qualified as a medical doctor from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

. Grace first played competitive

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 ...

in his early teens with the

club. He won four county hurling championship medals with the club between 1899 and 1903. After moving to

, Grace joined the Kickhams club where he played both hurling and

. He won back-to-back county football championship medals in 1906 and 1907, while he also won a county hurling championship medal with the club in 1908. Success at club level allowed Grace join the Dublin senior football team during the 1906 championship. In a brief career with the team he won back-to-back

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 in 1906 and 1907. Grace later joined the Kilkenny senior hurling team, winning three successive

medals between 1911 and 1913. He also won two

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 ...

medals as a footballer and four

medals as a hurler. Grace's brothers, -

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

- also had All-Ireland success in both codes with Kilkenny and Dublin. Between them, the three Grace brothers won a total of 15 All-Ireland medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Pierce 1885 births 1966 deaths All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Dual players Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Dublin inter-county hurlers Kickhams Gaelic footballers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Tullaroan hurlers 20th-century Irish medical doctors