Tom McInerney (1905–1998) 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 ...

sportsperson. He played

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 O'Callaghan's Mills. A defender, he played for the

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 ...

senior inter-county team that reached the All-Ireland final in 1932.

Playing career

Club

McInerney played club

with his local club O'Callaghan's Mills and enjoyed some success. He won a senior county title with the club in 1937. McInerney was the brother of Pa (Fowler) McInerney, also of O'Callahan's Mills, who won All-Ireland hurling championships with Clare and Dublin in the early 20th century.

Inter-county

McInerney first came to prominence for the

senior inter-county team in 1927 when Clare reached the Munster final.

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 ...

opposed him on that occasion and went on to win the game by 5-3 to 3-4. In 1928, Clare took on Cork for the second consecutive year in the Munster final. That year, McInerney's side nearly pulled off a shock result, however, both sides finished level after recording 2-2. The replay was not a happy game for Clare as Cork trounced them by 6-4 to 2-2. Two years later, in 1930, McInerney was back in the provincial decider.

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 ...

were the opponents on that occasion; however, Clare failed to make the breakthrough once again. A score line of 6-4 to 2-8 gave victory to Tipp. In 1932, Clare reached the Munster final for the fourth time in six years. Once again, Cork, a team that had defeated McInerney's side on many occasions, provided the opposition. The game saw Clare triumph for the first time since 1914. A score line of 5-2 to 4-1 gave McInerney his first and only

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 ...

medal. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final ended with Clare emerging victorious over

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 ...

by 9-4 to 4-14. This victory allowed Clare to advance to the All-Ireland final where

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 ...

provided the opposition. In a low-scoring but tense game, Clare’s

Tull Considine Turlough Owen "Tull" Considine (5 October 1898 – 7 July 1980) was an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who played for the Clare senior teams. A talented dual player, Considine first played for the senior hurling team during the 1918 cha ...

scored two goals and was foiled for what would almost certainly have been a third. These goals were negated by Kilkenny’s three goal-scoring heroes

Matty Power Matthew "Matty" Power (18 October 1899 – 7 October 1965) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Dicksboro and Garda. Power was also a member of the Kilkenny and Dublin senior inter-county team ...

, Martin White and

Lory Meagher Lorenzo Ignatius "Lory" Meagher (25 May 1899 – 17 May 1973) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. Born in Tullaroan, County Kilkenny, Meagher arrived on the inter-county scene at the ag ...

. The final score of 3-3 to 2-3 gave victory to Kilkenny. Clare went into decline following this game, 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 ...

emerged as the dominant force in Munster. McInenrey retired from inter-county hurling in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McInerney, Tom 1905 births 1998 deaths Irish schoolteachers O'Callaghan's Mills hurlers Clare inter-county hurlers