Donal O'Grady (born 3 July 1980) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder and later centre back for the

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

senior team. Born in Ballingarry,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, O'Grady first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one when he first linked up with the Limerick under-21 team. He made his senior debut in the 2004 championship. O'Grady has since gone on to play a key part for Limerick, and has won one

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

medal and one National League (Division 2) medal. O'Grady has been an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

runner-up on one occasion. O'Grady has been a member of the

inter-provincial team on a number of occasions and has won two

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medals. At club level he won one intermediate championship medal with Granagh-Ballingarry. He attended

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a boys–only Roman Catholic secondary school in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded by The Most Reverend John G. Young (bishop), John Young, Bishop of Limerick in 1796. As of January 2020, a total of 657 boys were enrolle ...

, Limerick and graduated from there in 1998. College :L.I.T

Playing career

Granagh-Ballingarry

O'Grady plays his club hurling with the Granagh-Ballingarry club and has enjoyed some success. In 2005 the club enjoyed its greatest success, with O'Grady playing a key role. After losing at the quarter-final or semi-final stage for six years in a row, the club finally reached the final of the county intermediate championship. A 4-10 to 3-10 defeat of

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' is an Irish television soap opera broadcast on RTÉ One for 18 years between September 1983 and May 2001. ''Glenroe was'' centred on the lives of the people living in the fictional rural village of the same name in County Wicklow. ...

gave O'Grady a championship medal.

Limerick

O'Grady first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the

under-21 team in 2001. He started in Limerick's opening game against

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

but was substituted after half-an-hour and failed to regain his place on the team., In spite of this he claimed

and

medals as a non-playing substitute. In 2004 O'Grady made his senior debut when he came on as a blood sub in Limerick's 1-18 to 2-12 defeat by Cork in the Munster semi-final. He was the first man from the Granagh-Ballingarry club to play senior hurling for Limerick. After becoming a regular member of the starting fifteen the following year, O'Grady lined out in his first Munster final in 2007.

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

provided the opposition, however, a 3-17 to 1-14 defeat was Limerick's lot on that occasion. Limerick later gained their revenge on Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final, thus gaining qualification to a first All-Ireland decider in eleven years for the Treaty men.

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

provided the opposition and got off to a flying start with

Eddie Brennan Edward Joseph Brennan (born 2 October 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. His league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team lasted twelve seasons from 2000 until 2011. Brennan was the manager of the Laois senio ...

and

Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin (born 11 January 1979) is an Irish hurling List of hurling managers, manager and former player who was the manager of the Galway senior hurling team from 2021 to 2024. In his playing career he was nicknamed "King Henry" because o ...

combining to score two goals within the first ten minutes. Limerick were eventually defeated on a 2–19 to 1–15 score line. Limerick failed to build on their reasonably successful 2007 season and went into decline once again. In late 2009 and early 2010 Limerick hurling hit an all-time low when many of the senior hurling team withdrew their services in protest at the continuation of Justin McCarthy as manager. As a result of this O'Grady played no part in the 2010 championship. O'Grady returned to the panel in 2011 and a new management team took over. Limerick defeated

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 ...

by 4-12 to 2-13 in the National League Division 2 final that year, giving O'Grady his first success in the senior grade. In 2013 O'Grady was appointed captain of the Limerick senior hurling team. It was a successful year as he won a

medal after guiding the team to a 0-24 to 0-15 victory over Cork in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Munster

O'Grady has also lined out with

in a number of inter-provincial campaigns and has enjoyed some success. In 2007 he was at midfield in his debut year when Munster defeated

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

by 2-22 to 2-19 to take the

title. Further appearances for the province in 2008, 2009 and 2012 ended in defeat. O'Grady won a second inter-provincial medal in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

following Munster's 1-22 to 0-15 defeat of Connacht.

Honours

;Limerick Limerick Senior Hurling Captain 2013-2015 *

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 ...

(1):

Waterford Crystal Cup 2006 & 2015 NHL Div 2 League 2011 Railway Cup 2007 & 2013 All-Ireland U21 Hurling Championship 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogrady, Donal 1980 births Living people Granagh-Ballingarry hurlers Limerick inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers People educated at St Munchin's College Hurling selectors 21st-century Irish sportsmen