Eugene Cloonan

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Eugene Cloonan (born 22 December 1978) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with Galway in the 1990s and 2000s.

Eugene Cloonan was born in Athenry, County Galway in 1978. He was educated locally and currently works as an electrician. Cloonan showed great skill as hurling when he was young and he soon joined his local Athenry club. With Athenry he has won under-21 and senior county medals as well as a host of underage titles. He also has seven Connacht Senior Club Hurling Championship titles which resulted in three All-Ireland Club titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

Cloonan made his inter-county debut against Tipperary in the under-14 Tony Forrestal competition in 1992. He was quickly spotted by the Galway minor selectors and he soon made the team. 1996 proved to be a year of mixed success for Cloonan. He played in the All-Ireland Minor Final but ended up on the losing side, however, he later went on to claim an All-Ireland Under-21 medal. He made his senior championship debut in 1997 and went on to win several Connacht Championship titles. In 2000 Cloonan played in his first All-Ireland Hurling Final, but again lost out on the day to a superior Tipperary. In spite of this he ended the year with an All-Star Award. Four years later Cloonan claimed his first and only National Hurling League medal. He also has a Railway Cup medal with Connacht