William John Clancy (17 June 1906 – 14 December 1967) 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 as a left corner-forward for the Cork senior team. Born in Mallow,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, Clancy first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one when he first linked up with the Cork senior team. He joined the senior panel during the 1928 championship. Clancy subsequently became a regular member of the starting fifteen, and won 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, one Munster medal and one National Hurling League medal. Clancy was a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, however, he never won a Railway Cup medal. At club level Clancy enjoyed a lengthy career with Mallow. Throughout his career Clancy made 15 championship appearances. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1934 championship.

Playing career

Club

Clancy played his club hurling with his local club in Mallow. The high point of his career, and indeed the highpoint of the club's history, came in 1928 when Mallow played Éire Óg in the final of the senior

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

. Mallow, however, lost on that occasion.

Inter-county

Clancy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the extended Cork panel in 1929. He was an unused substitute that year as Cork claimed Munster and

honours following respective defeats of

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 ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

. On 6 July 1930 Clancy made his senior championship debut in a 6-6 to 5-6 Munster semi-final defeat by Clare. In spite of this defeat he finished off the year by winning a National Hurling League medal following a 3-5 to 3-0 defeat of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

the decider. Clancy won his first Munster medal on the field of play in 1931 following a 5-4 to 1-2 defeat of Waterford. 6 September 1931 saw Kilkenny face Cork in the All-Ireland final for the first time in five years. The first half was closely contested, with a goal from "Gah" Ahern helping Cork to a half-time lead of 1-3 to 0-2. Cork stretched the advantage to six points in the second half, but Kilkenny came storming back with a goal and then four points on the trot to take the lead by one point. In the dying moments Cork captain

Eudie Coughlan Eugene "Eudie" Coughlan (26 August 1900 – 4 January 1987) was an Irish hurler. His league and championship career with the Cork senior team spanned thirteen seasons from 1919 until 1931. Born in Cork, Coughlan was raised in a strong hurli ...

got possession and made his way towards the goal. As he did so he slipped and fell but struck the sliotar while he was down on his knees, and it went over the bar for the equalising point. A 1-6 apiece draw was the result. 11 October 1931 was the date of the replay and proved to be just as exciting a contest as the first game. Kilkenny's

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 ...

was playing the best hurling of his career at this time and scored a magnificent point from 90 yards out the field. In spite of this great effort a winner couldn’t be found and both sides finished level again at 2-5 apiece. After this game officials pressed for extra time, however, Eudie Coughlan rejected this. It was also suggested at a meeting of Central Council that both teams be declared joint champions and that half an All-Ireland medal by given to each player. This motion was later defeated. As the All-Ireland saga went to a third meeting on 1 November 1931, Kilkenny's captain Meagher was ruled out of the game because of broken ribs sustained in the first replay. Such was the esteem in which he was held the game was virtually conceded to Cork since the star player couldn't play. In spite of fielding a younger team, Kilkenny were defeated by Cork on a score line of 5-8 to 3-4. The victory gave Clancy an All-Ireland medal on the field of play. On 8 July 1934 Clancy played his last game for Cork in a 3-4 to 2-2 Munster semi-final 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 ...

Inter-provincial

Clancy also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He first played for his province in 1932, however, Munster were defeated by

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 ...

in the final of the Railway Cup. Clancy lined out again in 1933, however, Leinster triumphed once again.

Personal life and death

Clancy was born in Mallow,

, the second of six children of Leitrim-born William and Julia (née Callaghan). After completing his education, he worked with the Electricity Supply Board. Clancy married Abina O'Sullivan in September 1933. On 14 December 1967, Clancy died from colon cancer aged 61.

Honours

;Cork * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (2):

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

(sub),

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

* Munster Senior Hurling Championship (2):

(sub),

* National Hurling League (1): 1929-30

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clancy, Willie 1906 births 1967 deaths Mallow hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners