Jimmy Smyth (hurler)

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Jimmy Smyth (born 29 December 1931) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Clare in the 1950s. He is often regarded as the greatest hurler never to win an All-Ireland medal.

Jimmy Smyth was born in Ruan near Ennis, County Clare in 1931. In spite of having an uncle who played with Clare and a motehr who was a hurling enthusiast, Smyth was a late-starter at the game. In his teens he played for his native Ruan and later attended St. Flannan's College where he won three Harty Cups and three All-Ireland Colleges medals in the 1940s. A skillful hurler from the age of 13 Smyth attracted the attention of the Clare minor hurling selectors. In spite of being born on December 29th, his mother registered his birth as January 1st, so technically he was allowed play at minor level for an extra year.

In all he played at minor level for a record five years where the junior and senior management noticed him. Smyth played his first inter-county match in the National Hurling League at the age of 17. In the mid-1950s Smyth earned his reputation with teh Calre senior hurlers. In 1953 he scored a record 6-4 in the Munster Championship. The follwoing year, 1954, Clare defeated Wexford to capture their first ever Oireachtas title. In 1955 Clare showed their confidence by defeating the All-Ireland champions Cork in the first round of the Munster Championship, however, Clare themselves were later defeated by Limerick.

In spite of little success with Clare, Smyth was choen on the Munster inter-provincial team on 12 occasions. With Munster he won eight Railway Cup medals, playing alongside hurling legends like John Doyle, Christy Ring, Tom Cheasty and Jimmy Doyle. In 1967 Smyth retired from hurling having given two decades to the game at the highest level. Following his retirement from play he continued his involvement with the Gaelic Athletic Association, working as Executive Officer at Croke Park until 1988. Following this he studied philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993. His Master of Arts thesis was based on the songs, poems and recitations of Gaelic games in Munster. In spite of not having any provincial or All-Ireland success Smyth was still named on the Munster Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.