William Walsh (26 September 188821 April 1964) was an Irish hurler, selector and

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

administrator. At club level he played with Sarsfields and was also a member of the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

. He usually lined out as a corner-back.

Career

Born in Little Island, Walsh first came to prominence as a hurler with the Sarsfields club in nearby

Glanmire Glanmire () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city, in the civil parish of Rathcooney, County Cork, Ireland. The greater Glanmire area encompasses the communities of Riverstown (Baile Roisín), Brooklodge (Cill Ruadhái ...

. He first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the

during the 1910 Munster Championship. Walsh was a regular member of the team over the following few seasons and won two Munster Championship medals. He also lined out in All-Ireland final defeats by

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 ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

and

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

. Walsh's last game for Cork was the 1916 Munster final defeat by Tipperary.

Post-playing career

Walsh was the Sarsfields representative on the Cork County Board for a number of years and was Cork’s Munster Council representative from 1931 to 1939. He was elected vice-chairman of the Cork County Board in 1937 before serving as chairman from 1941 to 1946 when he was defeated in an election at the County Convention. Walsh's tenure as chairman saw the Cork senior team claim five All-Ireland Championships in six seasons, including a record-breaking four-in-a-row. He was a selector for the title wins in 1941, 1943 and 1944. After being defeated for the chairmanship Walsh served one more year on the General Purposes Committee before standing down from his administrative duties.

Personal life

Walsh's niece married Willie Cummins, who had also lined out with the

. His grandnephews,

Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

and Brendan, all lined out with Cork at various levels from the 1960s until the 1980s. The

Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PIHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork GA ...

cup is named in Walsh's honour.

Honours

Player

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 ...

Selector

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 ...

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Willie 1888 births 1964 deaths Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling selectors Gaelic games administrators