Martin Coleman

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Martin Coleman (born 1950) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Cork in the 1970s.

Martin Coleman was born in Ballinhassig, County Cork in 1950. Although small in stature, standing just 5' 7", his acrobatics as goalkeeper on the Cork senior hurling team thrilled supporters, frequently making full-length saves followed by long puck-outs which regularly set-up scores at the other end of the field. He won Munster minor medals in 1968 and 1969, as well as back-to-back All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship victories with Cork in 1970 and 1971. He made his senior championship debut in 1970, coming on as a substitute in the All-Ireland semi-final against London. It would be 1974 before he became a semi-regular member of the team, coming on as a substitute against Waterford. The following year (1975) he became the number one choice as Cork goalkeeper, becoming a key member of the side that won three All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship titles in-a-row in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

Coleman was the hero of the 1977 All-Ireland final, making two great saves in the last two minutes of the game to clinch victory for Cork. After a defeat by Galway in the 1979 All-Ireland semi-final Coleman, at the young age of 29, retired from inter-county hurling. His career honours include four senior All-Irelands, seven Munster Championships and two under-21 All-Irelands. Coleman continued to play for his club, Ballinhassig, throughout the 1980s, before serving as a selector at senior and under-21 levels with Cork from 1990 until 2002. Coleman's son, Martin Coleman, Jnr is currently a member of the Cork senior hurling panel, following in his father's footsteps as a goalkeeper.

	Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1978
1 M. Coleman | 2 B. Murphy | 3 M. O'Doherty | 4 J. Horgan | 5 D. McCurtain | 6 J. Crowley | 7 D. Coughlan | 8 T. Cashman | 9 P. Moylan | 10 J. Barry-Murphy | 11 G. McCarthy | 12 T. Crowley | 13 C. McCarthy | 14 R. Cummins | 15 S. O'Leary | Subs: J. Allen | E. O'Donoghue | Manager: B. Troy