William Walsh (26 September 188821 April 1964) was an Irish hurler, selector and

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

administrator. At club level he played with Sarsfields and was also a member of the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

. He usually lined out as a corner-back.

Career

Born in Little Island, Walsh first came to prominence as a hurler with the Sarsfields club in nearby

Glanmire Glanmire () is a suburban town from Cork city centre, in the civil parish of Rathcooney, County Cork, Ireland. Glanmire is within the administrative area of Cork City Council and the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. The greater Gl ...

. He first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the

during the 1910 Munster Championship. Walsh was a regular member of the team over the following few seasons and won two

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 ...

medals. He also lined out in

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 ...

defeats by

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 ...

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

and

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 ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

. Walsh's last game for Cork was the 1916 Munster final 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 ...

Post-playing career

Walsh was the Sarsfields representative on the Cork County Board for a number of years and was Cork’s Munster Council representative from 1931 to 1939. He was elected vice-chairman of the Cork County Board in 1937 before serving as chairman from 1941 to 1946 when he was defeated in an election at the County Convention. Walsh's tenure as chairman saw the Cork senior team claim five All-Ireland Championships in six seasons, including a record-breaking four-in-a-row. He was a selector for the title wins in 1941, 1943 and 1944. After being defeated for the chairmanship Walsh served one more year on the General Purposes Committee before standing down from his administrative duties.

Personal life

Walsh's niece married

Willie Cummins William Cummins (18 October 1921 – 30 September 1992) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Carrigtwohill and was a member of the Cork minor and senior inter-county teams in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Playin ...

, who had also lined out with the

. His grandnephews,

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, Ray and

Brendan Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) was an Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr in Co. Offaly, contemporaneous with the above * Brendan (given name), a masculine given na ...

, all lined out with Cork at various levels from the 1960s until the 1980s. The

Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PIHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork ...

cup is named in Walsh's honour.

Honours

Player

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 ...

Selector

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 ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Willie 1888 births 1964 deaths Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling selectors Gaelic games administrators