James McGarry

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James McGarry

Personal information
Sport	Hurling
Date of Birth	26 November 1971
Place of birth	Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny
Club information
Club	Bennettsbridge
Position	Goalkeeper
Club(s)*
Club	Years	Apps (scores)
Inter County
County	Kilkenny
Position	Goalkeeper
Inter County(ies)**
County	Years	Apps (scores)
Kilkenny	1999-present	34 (0-0)
Inter County Titles
Leinster Titles	7
All-Ireland	4
* club appearances and scores correct as of . **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of .

James McGarry (born 26 November 1971) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Bennettsbridge and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team. He is the current goalkeeper on both teams and is widely regarded as one of the best in the country.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing career 2.1 Club 2.2 Junior 2.3 Senior

[edit] Early life

James McGarry was born in Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny in 1971. He grew up in a house just around the corner from his hurling idol, the great Noel Skehan. McGarry was educated locally and later worked for himself as a JCB operator.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Club

McGarry plays his club hurling with his local Bennettsbridge. Although best known as a goalkeeper, McGarry began his playing career as an outfield player. While Bennettsbridge were once regarded as one of the best teams in the Kilkenny SHC their fortunes have taken a downturn in the last few decades. In spite of this McGarry has still had some success with the club, winning Intermediate League county medals and county junior football medals.

[edit] Junior

Surprisingly McGarry never played at minor or under-21 levels for his native county. Instead he first came to prominence as a goalkeeper on the Kilkenny junior hurling team. He played in four All-Ireland junior finals, however, he only ended up on the winning side on one occasion in 1995. It was his performances with the junior team that brought McGarry to the attention of the senior selectors.

[edit] Senior

McGarry joined the Kilkeny senior hurling panel in 1998 as sub goalkeeper. At the age of 27 it appeared that his chance at senior championship hurling may have past by. In 1999, however, McGarry became the first-choice goalkeeper on the Kilkenny senior team. That year he won his very first Leinster title, however, Kilkenny went on to lose the All-Ireland final to Cork. In 2000 McGarry captured a second Leinster title which allowed Kilkenny to advance to another All-Ireland final. This time he ended up on the victorious side and claimed his first All-Ireland medal with a huge win over Offaly. In 2001 McGarry claimed his third Leinster medal, however, there was no All-Ireland title to celebrate. In 2002 Kilkenny were back on form and McGarry captured his first National Hurling League titile. He subsequently claimed yet another Leinster title before later winning his second All-Ireland medal with a victory over Clare.

In 2003 it was Leinster title number five for McGarry, which was subsequently converted into his third All-Ireland medal. In 2004 Kilkenny were aiming for the three-in-a-row of All-Ireland victories, however, the side had a less than successful year. They lost their Leinster crown to Wexford but reached the All-Ireland final via the qualifiers system. On the day they lost to an up-and-coming Cork side and McGarry ended the year with no silverware. In 2005 he won his second League title, his sixth Leinster medal and the scene looked set for a third consecutive show-down between Cork and Kilkenny in the final. Galway, however, put an end to Kilkenny's hopes in a thrilling semi-final at Croke Park. In 2006 McGarry captured his third National League title in a close victory over Limerick. He later won his seventh Leinster title which allowed "the Cats" to progress and meet Cork in the All-Ireland final. On the day Kilkenny were too strong for Cork and McGarry uccessfully captured his fourth All-Ireland medal.

McGarry has been nominated on several occasions for an All-Star Award but, surprisngly, he has yet to win one. He also won two Railway Cup medals as goalkeeper on the Leinster side.

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2000 (26th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 W. O'Connor (Capt.) | 5 P. Larkin | 6 E. Kennedy | 7 P. Barry | 8 A. Comerford | 9 B. McEvoy | 10 D. Byrne | 11 J. Power | 12 J. Hoyne | 13 C. Carter | 14 H. Shefflin | 15 D.J. Carey | Subs: C. Brennan | E. Brennan | Manager: B. Cody

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2002 (27th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 P. Larkin | 5 R. Mullally | 6 P. Barry | 7 J.J. Delaney | 8 D. Lynch | 9 A. Comerford | 10 J. Hoyne | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 J. Coogan | 13 E. Brennan | 14 M. Comerford | 15 D.J. Carey | Subs: C. Carter | B. McEvoy | J. Power | Manager: B. Cody

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2003 (28th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 J. Ryall | 5 S. Dowling | 6 P. Barry | 7 J.J. Delaney | 8 P. Mullally | 9 D. Lyng | 10 J. Hoyne | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 T. Walsh | 13 D.J. Carey | 14 M. Comerford | 15 E. Brennan | Subs: C. Phelan | R. Mulally | A. Comerford | J. Coogan | Manager: B. Cody

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2006 (29th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 J. Tyrrell (Capt.) | 5 James Ryall | 6 J. Tennyson | 7 T. Walsh | 8 J. 'Cha' Fitzpatrick | 9 D. Lyng | 10 R. Power | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 E. Larkin | 13 E. Brennan | 14 M. Comerford | 15 A. Fogarty | Subs: W. O'Dwyer | R. Mulally | Manager: B. Cody

	Kilkenny Senior Hurling Team 2006
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 J. Tyrrell (Capt.) | 5 J. Ryall | 6 J. Tennyson | 7 T. Walsh | 8 J. 'Cha' Fitzpatrick | 9 D. Lyng | 10 R. Power | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 E. Larkin | 13 E. Brennan | 14 M. Comerford | 15 A. Fogarty | 16 P.J. Ryan | 17 B. Hogan | 18 R. Mullally | 19 S. Maher | 20 J. Dalton | 21 P.J. Delaney | 22 M. Fennelly | 23 M. Rice | 24 E. McCormack | 25 W. O'Dwyer | 26 P. Cleere | 27 A. Murphy | 28 E. Reid | 29 S. Cummins | 30 S. O'Neill | 31 R. O'Neill | 32 J.J. Delaney | 33 D. Cody | Manager: B. Cody