John Commins (hurler)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Full name | John Commins | ||
| Date of Birth | 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Gort, County Galway | ||
| Height | 5'11" | ||
| Club information | |||
| Club | Gort | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club(s)* | |||
| Club | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Inter County | |||
| County | Galway | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Inter County(ies)** | |||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Galway | 1986-1990 | 12 (1-0) | |
| Inter County Titles | |||
| Connacht Titles | 0 | ||
| All-Ireland | 2 | ||
| All-Stars | 2 | ||
|
* club appearances and scores |
|||
John Commins (born 1966) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with Galway from 1986 until 1990.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
John Commins was born in Gort, County Galway in 1966. From a young age he showed great interest in the game of hurling and, in time, he would become a key member of the great Galway team of the 1980s.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club
Commins played his club hurling with his local Gort club. He had some success at underage levels, however, a senior county title eluded him.
[edit] Inter-county
Commins first came to prominence as an inter-county hurler on Galway's minor team in the early 1980s. He won an All-Ireland medal in 1983 and quickly graduated onto the under-21 side where he won another All-Ireland medal in 1986. That same year Commins made his debut as goalkeeper on the senior hurling team, with Galway reaching their second consecutive All-Ireland final. In the game against Cork Commins ran the length of the pitch to score a penalty, however, victory still went to the Munster champions. In 1987, in their third All-Ireland final appearance in-a-row, Galway took on Kilkenny. At the third time of asking Galway emerged victorious and Commins finally captured his first All-Ireland medal.
In 1988 Tipperary were Galway's opponents in their fourth consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. Commins had another solid performance as goalkeeper and claimed his second All-Ireland title in the process, before later winning his first All-Star award. In 1989 Commins began the year by winning his first National Hurling League title, however, Galway's star centre-back, Tony Keady, was banned from playing for a year. The side had contemplated withdrawing from the championship in protest, however, they decided to play, eventually losing out to Tipp in the All-Ireland semi-final.
In 1990 Commins played in his fourth All-Ireland final in five seasons. Galway were the hot favourites to beat Cork and it looked as if that prediction would come true when the tribesmen went 7 points up. Commins, unfortunately, had a nightmare of a game letting in five goals in all. He was the scapegoat for the 5-15 to 2-21 defeat and was dropped from the Galway team for the 1991 championship. At just 25 years-old Commins’s inter-county hurling career had drawn to a close.
[edit] Teams
| Galway - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1987 (3rd title) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 J. Commins | 2 S. Linnane | 3 C. Hayes (Capt.) | 4 O. Kilkenny | 5 P. Finnerty | 6 T. Keady | 7 G. McInerney | 8 S. Mahon | 9 P. Malone | 10 M. McGrath | 11 J. Cooney | 12 M. Naughton | 13 É. Ryan | 14 B. Lynskey | 15 A. Cunningham | Subs: N. Lane | T. Kilkenny | P.J. Molloy Manager: C. Farrell |
||
| Galway - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1988 (4th title) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 J. Commins | 2 S. Linnane | 3 C. Hayes (Capt.) | 4 O. Kilkenny | 5 P. Finnerty | 6 T. Keady | 7 G. McInerney | 8 M. Coleman | 9 P. Malone | 10 A. Cunningham | 11 B. Lynskey | 12 M. Naughton | 13 M. McGrath | 14 J. Cooney | 15 É. Ryan | Subs: N. Lane | T. Kilkenny | G. Burke Manager: C. Farrell |
||
