John Connolly (hurler)
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John Connolly (born 1948) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Galway in the 1970s and 1980s.
John Connolly was born in Leiter Moir, Connemara, County Galway in 1948. From his early years he showed outstanding promise as a fine all-round sportsman. His family moved to the city while he was still a young boy and he quickly became involved with the local Castlegar club. By the mid 1960s Connolly was coming to the notice of the public as a hurler, Gaelic footballer and as a boxer. In 1965 he was crowned Connacht Junior champion at light-welterweight. Connolly turned his attention to Gaelic games after this, winning the first of his county senior hurling championship medals as a teenager in 1967. He added another winners medal in 1969 and having made his debut for the Galway senior hurlers against Clare in 1968, he soon established himself as one of the top centre-field players in the country. In spite of a lack of success for Galway, he was named on the inaugural All Star team in 1971.
Connolly won a third county championship medal with Castlegar in 1972 but he was over-age for Galway's first All-Ireland Under-21 success in the same year. During the 1970s the Galway hurlers were in the dodrums. Connolly made up for this disappointment by winning another county championship in 1973. The turn-around for Connolly and the Galway seniors came in 1975 when they stormed past Tipperary to claim the National Hurling League title.
The league win did not translate into All-Ireland success however, as the rest of the decade was dominated by Cork and Kilkenny. There was some consolation for Connolly in 1979 when he collected his second All-Star award and there was also a fifth championship medal with Castlegar. The latter success was particularly significant as it paved the way for an All-Ireland Club success in 1980. More success was to follow when Connolly won his first senior All-Ireland medal in 1980, ending a 57-year gap since Galway's last win. There were emotional scenes as Connolly's brother Joe was presented with the Cup. By 1981 Connolly was the veteran member of the team. That year Galway lost out to Offaly in the All-Ireland. Connolly won the last of his six county championship medals with Castlegar in 1984. In retirement from the game he served as a selector on the Galway side of the 1990s.
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