Seánie McGrath (born 10 June 1975) is an Irish retired 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. Born in

Mayfield, Cork Mayfield, historically ''Ballinamought'' (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records). Retrieved: 201 ...

, McGrath first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Mayfield Community School. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 1997 championship. McGrath went on to win one

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 ...

medal, 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 one

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 was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. As a member of the

inter-provincial team McGrath won three

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 ...

medals. At club level he enjoyed a lengthy career with

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 ...

. Throughout his inter-county career McGrath made 17 championship appearances for Cork. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 2003 championship. In retirement from playing McGrath became involved in team management and coaching. He is currently a selector with the Cork senior team, having earlier served with the Cork minor team.

Playing career

University College Cork

On 2 March 1997, McGrath was at left wing-forward when

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

faced the

Garda College Garda may refer to: * Police, known as Garda in Hiberno-English * Garda (security company), a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * Garda Síochána, the national police of the Republic of Ireland * Garda National Sur ...

in the final of the

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup ( ga, Corn Mhic Giobúin) is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered ...

. He scored three points from play and collected a winners' medal in the 0-14 to 1-08 victory. McGrath lined out in a second Fitzgibbon Cup final on 1 March 1998. He top scored with 1-04 from left wing-forward in the 2-17 to 0-13 defeat of the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

in the final. McGrath was also named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

Glen Rovers

McGrath began his club hurling career with Mayfield before later joining the

club. On 12 November 1995, McGrath was at left wing-forward when Glen Rovers faced

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at whic ...

in the final of the Cork Under-21 Championship. McGrath top scorer with 1-05 in the 2-14 to 1-14 victory. By this stage McGrath had already joined the Glen Rovers senior team. He made his first appearance for the team on 11 July 1993 in a 3-09 to 2-04 defeat by

Na Piarsaigh Na Piarsaigh are a hurling and Gaelic football club based in the north side of Cork City, Ireland. History Formation In 1943 a group of idealistic young men drawn mostly from the hurling nursery of North Mon laid the foundations of Cumann I ...

. McGrath played his last senior championship game for the club in a 2-15 to 1-12 defeat by

Newtownshandrum Newtownshandrum () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland located west of Charleville on the R515 road. The name translates from Irish to mean 'new town of the old ridge'. Historic maps from 1829–1841 and 1897–1913 identify the village ...

on 9 September 2007. He subsequently joined the Glen Rovers junior team and won a City Division Championship on 23 September 2008 after a 2-13 to 0-10 defeat of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

in the final. McGrath top scored with 1-05 as well as being joint captain of the team.

Cork

Minor and under-21

McGrath first played for

when he was selected for the minor team during the 1992 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance on 1 May and scored two points from left corner-forward in a 1-11 to 0-11 defeat by

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 ...

. McGrath was eligible for the minor grade again in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. He was at right corner-forward on 4 July when Cork suffered a 1-22 to 1-09 defeat by Tipperary in the

Munster final 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 ...

. On 27 July 1994, McGrath made his first appearance for the Cork under-21 team in a 3-13 to 2-10 defeat by

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

. After an unsuccessful season in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, McGrath was appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team for the 1996 Munster Championship. On 24 July he captained Cork to a 3-16 to 2-07 defeat of Clare in the Munster final.

Senior

McGrath was drafted onto the Cork senior team before the 1997 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 9 March and scored two points in a 6-21 to 2-04 defeat of

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

. McGrath made his championship debut on 8 June and scored five points from right corner-forward in a 1-19 to 0-18 defeat by Clare. On 17 May 1998, McGrath won a

medal at right wing-forward following a 2-14 to 0-13 defeat of Waterford in the final. McGrath lined out in his first

on 4 July 1999. He scored two points from right corner-forward in a 1-15 to 0-14 defeat of reigning champions Clare. On 11 September, McGrath was again at right corner-forward for the

All-Ireland final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

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 ...

. He scored three points and claimed a winners' medal following the 0-13 to 0-12 victory. McGrath was later honoured with an All-Star award. On 3 July 2000, McGrath lined out in his second

. He scored three points from right corner-forward and collected a second consecutive winners' medal following a 0-23 to 3-12 defeat of Tipperary. McGrath lined out in six of Cork's games during the 2002 National League. He was an unused substitute on 5 May when Cork suffered a 2-15 to 2-14 defeat by Kilkenny in the final. On 29 November, McGrath and all 29 of his teammates withdrew their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board. He played a low-key role during the strike before a settlement was agreed with the county board on 13 December. McGrath lined out in all seven of Cork's games during the 2003 National League but failed to secure a place on the starting fifteen for the championship. He won a third Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute on 29 June after a 3-16 to 3-12 defeat of Waterford in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. On 14 September, McGrath was also named on the bench when Cork faced Kilkenny in the

. He was introduced as a 67th-minute substitute and scored a point in the 1-14 to 1-11 defeat. It was his last game for Cork.

Munster

McGrath was first picked for the

inter-provincial team in 1997. It was a successful campaign for the southern province, as a 0–14 to 0–10 defeat of fierce rivals

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 ...

gave McGrath his first

medal. After back-to-back defeats over the next two years, success returned for Munster in 2000. A narrow 3–15 to 2–15 defeat of Leinster secured a second Railway Cup medal for McGrath. Munster retained the title in 2001, with McGrath collecting a third Railway Cup medal following a 1–21 to 1–15 defeat of Connacht in what was his last appearance for the province.

Coaching career

Cork minor

McGrath joined John Considine's minor management team as a selector for the 2010 Munster Championship. His two-year tenure with the team ended with early defeats by Waterford and Tipperary.

Cork

On 1 September 2011, McGrath was named as one of

Jimmy Barry-Murphy James Barry-Murphy (born 22 August 1954) is an Irish hurling manager and former hurler, Gaelic footballer and association football player. He was the manager of the senior Cork county hurling team from 2011 to 2015, returning a decade after h ...

's selectors with the Cork senior team. On 6 May 2012, McGrath guided Cork to a National League final meeting with Kilkenny. Cork suffered a 3-21 to 0-16 defeat. McGrath helped Cork reach the

on 14 July 2013, however, Cork suffered a 0-24 to 0-15 defeat by

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 ...

. In spite of this defeat, Cork subsequently qualified to meet Clare in the

on 8 September. That game ended in a 3-16 to 0-25 draw, however, Cork suffered a 5-16 to 3-16 defeat in the replay on 28 September. On 3 July 2014, McGrath enjoyed his first success as a selector when Cork won the Munster Championship after a 2-24 to 0-24 defeat of Limerick in the

. McGrath stepped down as selector following Jimmy Barry-Murphy's resignation on 29 August 2015.

Cork minor

McGrath returned as a selector with the Cork minor hurling team for the 2019 Munster Championship.

Media career

In retirement from playing McGrath served as a hurling analyst and pundit on radio, television and in the print media. On radio he was a regular with

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Autho ...

's ''Off the Ball'' programme and on

Cork's Red FM Cork's RedFM is an Republic of Ireland, Irish radio station which broadcasts to Cork (city), Cork and the surrounding area, and is aimed at a youth audience. The station commenced broadcasting on 16 January 2002" and was awarded Ireland's first y ...

. On television he was an analyst with

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

during their coverage of the National League. McGrath also had a weekly column in the ''

Evening Echo ''The Echo'', formerly known as the ''Evening Echo'', is an Irish morning newspaper based in Cork. It is distributed throughout the province of Munster, although it is primarily read in its base city of Cork. The newspaper was founded as a broa ...

Career statistics

Club

Inter-county

Honours

Team

;University College Cork *

(2): 1997, 1998 ;Glen Rovers *

City Junior A Hurling Championship The City Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the BCE Consulting Engineers City Junior A Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Seandún Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association sinc ...

(1): 2008 *

Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Evening Echo'' Cork County Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gael ...

(1): 1995 ;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 ...

(1):

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

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 ...

(3):

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 ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

(1):

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 ...

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-co ...

(1):

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

(3): 1997, 2000, 2001

Individual

;Awards * All-Star (1): 1999

Selector

(1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Seanie 1975 births Living people Mayfield hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers UCC hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling selectors All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners