John Leahy (hurler)

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John Leahy

Personal information
Sport	Hurling
Full name	John Leahy
Date of Birth	16 September 1969
Place of birth	Mullinahone, County Tipperary
Height	5’10”
Club information
Club	Mullinahone
Position	Half-forward
Club(s)*
Club	Years	Apps (scores)
Inter County
County	Tipperary
Position	Half-forwrad
Inter County(ies)**
County	Years	Apps (scores)
Tipperary	1988-2002
Inter County Titles
Munster Titles	4
All-Ireland	2
All-Stars	3
* club appearances and scores correct as of . **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of .

John Leahy (born 16 September 1969) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with the Tipperary inter-county team from 1988 until 2002. He is regarded as one of Tipperary’s greatest-ever players.

Contents 1 Early life & private life 2 Playing career 2.1 Club 2.2 Minor & under-21 2.3 Senior 3 Post-playing career 4 Teams

[edit] Early life & private life

John Leahy was born in Mullinahone, County Tipperary in 1969. He was educated locally and later worked for the United Beverages Group in Kilkenny. Leahy has encountered severe personal problems in his life with regards to alcohol and depression. He has since overcome these difficulties and now speaks out about the dangers of alcohol in society.

On 9 February 2005 Leahy was profiled on the TG4 television programme Laochra Gael.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Club

Leahy played his club hurling and football with his local Mullinahone club. He enjoyed much success winning county medals in both codes at underage levels. By the time Leahy’s club career was coming to an end Mullinahone had been promoted to the senior grade. In 2002 he battled back from a cruciate ligament injury to be appointed player-manger of the club’s senior hurling side. That year he guided Mullinahone to their first senior county championship.

[edit] Minor & under-21

Leahy’s hurling skills quickly came to the attention of the Tipperary inter-county selectors and he joined the minor panel in the mid-1980s. In 1987 he won a Munster minor medal before later joining the county’s under-21 panel. In 1989 Leahy won a Munster title with the under-21 team before later converting this into an All-Ireland medal. In 1990 he won a second Munster under-21 medal.

[edit] Senior

In 1988 Leahy made his senior inter-county debut in a National Hurling League game against Antrim. In doing so he became the first Mullinahone man ever to play for the senior side. Tipp later went on to win the league title, with Leahy coming on as a substitute in the final. Later that year he came on as a substitute in the Munster final to claim his first senior provincial medal. Tipperary later lost the All-Ireland final to Galway. In 1989 Leahy was a full member of the Tipperary team and he captured a second consecutive Munster medal. This was later converted into his first senior All-Ireland medal following a final victory over Antrim.

Two years later in 1991 Leahy captured a third provincial medal before later winning his second All-Ireland medal following a win over Kilkenny. His performance throughout the whole championship earned Leahy his first All-Star award. In 1993 he won his fourth Munster medal, however, Tipperary were later beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Leahy won a second National League medal before adding a second All-Star award to his collection at the end of 1994. Three years later in 1997 Tipperary lost to Clare in the Munster final. In the first year of the ‘back-door system’, however, Tipp later qualified to play Clare again in the first-ever All-Munster All-Ireland final. Unfortunately Leahy ended up on the losing side once again. In spite of this he was presented with a third All-Star award.

In 1999 Leahy won his third National League medal, however, further championship success still eluded Tipp. All this changed in 2001 when Tipp began the year by winning another league title. Recurring injuries ruled Leahy out of both the Munster and All-Ireland finals, which Tipperary won. Had he played in the All-Ireland final he would have become one of only a handful of players to have won All-Ireland medals in three different decades. Leahy retired from inter-county hurling in 2002.

[edit] Post-playing career

In retirement from inter-county hurling Leahy has maintained a key interest in the game. He is currently a selector on the senior team managed by Babs Keating.

[edit] Teams

	Tipperary - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1989 (23rd title)
1 K. Hogan | 2 J. Heffernan | 3 C. O'Donovan | 4 Noel Sheehy | 5 Conal Bonnar | 6 B. Ryan (Capt.) | 7 J. Kennedy | 8 Colm Bonnar | 9 D. Carr | 10 J. Leahy | 11 D. Ryan | 12 M. Cleary | 13 P. Fox | 14 Cormac Bonnar | 15 N. English | Subs: J. Hayes | D. O'Connell | A. Ryan | Manager: M 'Babs' Keating |

	Tipperary - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1991 (24th title)
1 K. Hogan | 2 P. Delaney | 3 N. Sheehy | 4 M. Ryan | 5 Colm Bonnar | 6 B. Ryan | 7 Conal Bonnar | 8 D. Carr (Capt.) | 9 A. Ryan | 10 M. Cleary | 11 D. Ryan | 12 J. Leahy | 13 P. Fox | 14 Cormac Bonnar | 15 N. English | Subs: C. Stakelum | D. O'Connell | Manager: M 'Babs' Keating |