Séamus Butler (born 1980 in

Drom Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the European ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

with his local club Drom & Inch, and is a former Tipperary senior inter-county hurler.

Early life

Seamus Butler was born near

Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...

in 1980. His father, Tommy Butler, played with Tipperary in the 1970s and collected an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

award in 1978. Seamus Butler was educated locally and later attended the Tipperary Institute where he collected a Ryan Cup medal in 2003.

Playing career

Club

Butler has played his club

with his local Drom & Inch club. At underage levels he won a county minor medal and two county under-21 titles. In 2005 Drom & Inch took on Thurles Sarsfields in the senior county final. In spite of losing the game Butler scored 11 points in that game. In 2006 and 2008 Butler won Mid-Tipperary Senior hurling titles with the club.

Inter-county

Butler first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Tipperary minor hurling team in the late 1990s. He won a

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 in this grade as a substitute in 1997, however, there was no further success in the All-Ireland series. Four years later in 2001 Butler was captain of the Tipperary under-21 team that lost the Munster final to

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 ...

. The following year Butler made his senior competitive debut in a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

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 * ...

. It would be 2004, however, before Butler made his senior championship debut against

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 ...

. In 2008 Butler collected

and

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 ...

medals. Butler was not selected for the Tipperary squad for 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Seamus 1980 births Living people Drom-Inch hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen