Seán Cullinane (born 1966) is a retired Irish hurler who formerly played with Passage at club level and with

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 ...

at inter-county level. Seán was both Passage and Waterford's number one full back for the late 1990s and at the start of the 2000s. Seán's final match for

came on 11 June 2001 against

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 ...

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. Often referred to simply as "The Park", it is the home of Cork GAA and is located in Ballintemple, near the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. In February 2024, follo ...

. Seán's inter-county career finished on a sour note, losing to Limerick by 3 points, after having led the match by 11 points after 16 minutes. Since Seán's retirement, it can be said that

Waterford GAA The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The ...

have failed to successfully replace him at full back with a number of players such as

Tom Feeney Thomas Charles Feeney III (born May 21, 1958) is an American politician from Orlando, Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. Early life He was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of P ...

, Kevin Moran,

Declan Prendergast Declan Prendergast (born 4 October 1981) is an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back at senior level for the Waterford county team. Prendergast joined the team during the 2001 National League and was a regular member of the starting fi ...

and Ken McGrath all having been tried out at the position. Seán had a frustrating club career with Passage having lost three

Waterford Senior Hurling Championship The Waterford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 18 ...

finals, most notably in the 1993 final, having lost to

Lismore GAA Lismore GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. The club enters teams in both GAA codes each year, which includes two adult hurling teams and one adult Gaelic football team in the Waterford County ...

by a single point in an incredibly wet and windy day in

Walsh Park Walsh Park () is a GAA stadium in Waterford, Ireland named after Willie Walsh, a well-known referee and long time campaigner for Gaelic games in Waterford. It is one of the two homes of the Waterford Gaelic football and hurling teams, the oth ...

. While Seán's final match for

was a disappointment, his last match for Passage was more of a fairytale ending. At the age of 38, Seán came on as a sub in the 2007

Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship The Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Waterford IHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Waterford County ...

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 ...

where Passage beat

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

by 6 points. This ensured that Passage would be back playing senior hurling in 2008. Seán having now finished as a player at senior level, is head trainer at Passage. In addition, he was announced as the second shock replacement in a week for the Waterford senior management team, alongside Kend Mcgrath for Nicky Cashin. Seán will act as defensive selector and coach under Michael Ryan for the 2012 season, replacing Br. Philip Ryan of Mt.Sion from 26/03/2012 onwards.

Honours

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 ...

runner-up - 1989, 1998 *

winner - 2007 *

Waterford Junior Hurling Championship The Waterford Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Junior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Waterford JAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Waterford County Board of ...

winner - 2009 *

runner-up - 1993, 1994 and 1997

Championship Appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullinane, Sean 1969 births Living people Waterford inter-county hurlers Passage (Waterford) hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen