Séamus "Cheddar" Plunkett (born 1961) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward for the senior Laois county team. Plunkett made his first appearance for the team during the 1980-81 National League and was a semi-regular member of the starting fifteen until he left the panel after the 1988 championship. During that time he had little success. At club level Plunkett is a seven-time county club championship medalist with

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

. In retirement from playing Plunkett became involved in team management. He served as a selector and manager with Portlaoise and various Laois underage teams, before first taking over as manager of the Laois senior hurling team in 2012.

Playing career

Club

Plunkett played his club hurling with

and had a lengthy career. Having lost the 1980 championship decider to Camross, both sides met again the following year's final. In a thrilling game Portlaoise denied Camross a sixth successive county title. It was the first of four successive championships for Plunkett and Portlaoise. Five-in-a-row proved beyond Portlaoise as Camross defeated Plunkett's side by just a single point in 1985. Two years later Portlaoise were back as the kingpins of county hurling. A 2-13 to 1-5 trouncing of Clonad gave Plunkett his fifth championship medal. After surrendering their title the following year, Portlaoise faced off against Camross again in 1989. A thrilling draw was followed by a 0-12 to 1-4 victory for Portlaoise. It was Plunkett's sixth championship medal. Camross got the better of Portlaoise again in 1990, however, Plunkett's side reached a fifth successive championship decider in 1991. A defeat of Clonad gave Plunkett his seventh and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Plunkett made his senior debut for Laois 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

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 ...

during the 1980–81 campaign. It was a winning debut as Plunkett contributed 1-1 in a five-point defeat of "the Cats". Plunkett was a regular during Laois's various National League campaigns throughout the 1980s; however, he had little success in the championship.

Managerial career

Laois

Plunkett was ratified as manager of the Laois senior team on 18 December 2012. His first National League campaign in charge saw Laois suffer just one defeat in the group stage before winning the Division 2A final and promotion to Division 1B following a 3-14 to 1-9 defeat of

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. Plunkett's side later nearly pulled off a shock defeat of reigning

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 ...

champions

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the provincial semi-final. Laois's 2014 league campaign saw Plunkett's side preserve their position in Division 1B before narrowly losing to

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 ...

at the quarter-final stage. For the second year in succession Laois nearly pulled off a shock victory over Galway, however, Plunkett's side eventually lost by two points. In 2015 Laois enjoyed a mixed league campaign but eventually survived in a relegation battle with Antrim. On 28 May 2015 Plunkett announced his resignation as manager after two of his panel members played a club game against the wishes of management. He later reversed his decision and returned as manager less than a week later. Plunkett succeeded

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 ...

as Laois manager when Brennan resigned in November 2020, beginning a second spell in charge, with Laois proposing him in December 2020 and confirming the appointment on 1 February 2021.https://www.skysports.com/gaa/hurling/news/30554/12154736/laois-re-appoint-seamus-cheddar-plunkett-as-senior-hurling-manager He announced his departure in June 2022.

Kilkenny (club)

In November 2022, it was announced that Plunkett had taken over as manager of Kilkenny intermediate club St Martin's.

Personal life

Plunkett's nickname is "Cheddar", which stems from his schooldays in Portlaoise.

Honours

Player

;Portlaoise *

Laois Senior Hurling Championship The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888. Clough–Ballacolla are the title holders, de ...

(1): 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991

Manager

;Laois * National Hurling League (Division 2A) (1):

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunkett, Seamus 1961 births Living people Hurling managers Hurling selectors Laois inter-county hurlers Portlaoise hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen