Séamus Horgan (born 1946) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a goalkeeper 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. Horgan made his first appearance for the team during the 1972-73 National League and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. During that time he won one

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

winners' medal and two

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 ...

winners' medals. At club level Horgan played with

Tournafulla Tournafulla, or Toornafulla (), is a village in the southwest of County Limerick, Ireland. Tournafulla is a long single-street village. It has a Catholic church, a primary school, three pubs, a community hall and a GAA pitch. As of the 2022 ce ...

in a career that spanned four decades.

Playing career

Club

Horgan played his club

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. He enjoyed some success as he minded the Tournafulla net for four decades. One of his last games was a county final at intermediate level in 1994 when Horgan was 48 years old.

Inter-county

Horgan first came to prominence as a member of the

senior inter-county team in the early 1970s. He took over in the number one position in the 1972-73 National Hurling League which Limerick lost to

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

. In spite of this loss Limerick went on to win the Munster Championship for the first time since 1955, giving Horgan his first provincial medal. Limerick later faced

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 ...

in the All-Ireland final, however, the Munster champions were burdened with the underdogs tag. In spite of this Limerick powered to a seven-point victory, giving Horgan 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 ...

medal. In 1974 Horgan won a second consecutive Munster title before lining out in a second consecutive All-Ireland final. Once again Kilkenny provided the opposition. Limerick stormed to an early lead, however, a Pat Delaney shot from midfield bounced on the wet

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

surface and between Horgan's legs for a goal. Two more goals for Kilkenny put an end to Limerick's hopes of victory as 'the Cats' emerged the winners by twelve points. Horgan continued hurling at inter-county level until 1976 when he was replaced by

Tommy Quaid Tommy Quaid (23 April 1957 – 10 October 1998) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Feohanagh-Castlemahon and Effin and was the goalkeeper on the Limerick senior inter-county team from 1976 unti ...

Inter-provincial

Horgan was sub-goalkeeper to Séamus Durack on the

team that lost the

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 ...

final to

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horgan, Seamus 1946 births Living people Tournafulla hurlers Limerick inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling goalkeepers 20th-century Irish sportsmen