Tommy Quaid
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Full name | Thomas Quaid | ||
| Date of Birth | 1957 | ||
| Date of Death | 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Charleville, County Cork | ||
| Height | 5'9" | ||
| Nickname(s) | Tommy | ||
| Club information | |||
| Club | Feohanagh-Castlemahon | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club(s)* | |||
| Club | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Inter County | |||
| County | Limerick | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Inter County(ies)** | |||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) | |
| Limerick | 1976-1993 | ||
| Inter County Titles | |||
| Munster Titles | 2 | ||
| All-Ireland | 0 | ||
| All-Stars | 1 | ||
|
* club appearances and scores |
|||
Tommy Quaid (1957-1998) was an Irish sportsperson. He played senior championship hurling with Limerick from 1976 until 1993.
Contents |
[edit] Early & private life
Tommy Quaid was born in Charleville, County Cork in 1957. He was born into a family that had a strong association with hurling. His father, Jack Quaid, was one of the key players on the Limerick team which beat London in the 1954 junior All-Ireland final. He won a senior Munster title the following year. Tommy Quaid had three other brothers who all played club or inter-county hurling at some stage of their careers.
Quaid was educated locally at Feohanagh National School before later attending Newcastlewest Secondary School. He trained as a fitter with the local Golden Vale company and later set up his own engineering business.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club
Quaid, along with his three brothers, played club hurling with the local Feohanagh-Castlemahon club. He won many awards with the club and in 1990 he captained the side to a West Limerick SHC title. Unfortunately Quaid never won a county senior title. In later years he played his club hurling with Effin where he won three South Limerick SHC titles.
[edit] Inter-county
Quaid was passed over for inter-county duty on the Limerick minor team in 1973, however, he joined the side the following year as goalkeeper. Unfortunately he ended up on the losing side in back-to-back Munster finals in 1974 and 1975. By this stage Quaid was also a member of Limerick’s under-21 team but had little success at this level either. He made his senior inter-county debut in the National Hurling League in early 1976, however, he had a disastrous game against Kilkenny. In spite of this he was till picked as Limerick’s first-choice goalkeeper for the championship.
In 1980 Quaid tasted his first senior success when he won his first Munster title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Limerick were beaten by Galway. In 1981 Quaid captured a second Munster medal, however, this time Limerick were once again beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Three years later in 1984 he won his first National League medal. The win was all the more special as it was the centenary year of the GAA. A second National League title was collected by Quaid in 1985. In spite of these victories Limerick had little success in the Munster championship.
In 1992 Quaid won a third National League medal, however, Limerick later lost the Munster final to Cork. In spite of this Quaid’s championship performance earned him his first, and only, All-Star award. Following the completion of the 1993 Munster championship Quai decided to retire after 18 consecutive championship seasons as goalkeeper. He was replaced on the Limerick team by his nephew, Joe Quaid.
[edit] Death
In retirement from playing Quaid became involved in the management side of hurling. He coached the Limerick intermediate team in the 1998, however, on the week before his team were to play Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final tragedy struck. While working on the Credit Union building in Charleville, Quaid fell 14 feet from some scaffolding and landed on his back, hitting his head in the process. He was immediately rushed to hospital, however, he died from his injuries several days later on 10 October 1998.
