Liam Fennelly
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| Liam Fennelly | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | |
| Irish Name | Liam Ó Fionnalaigh | |
| Full name | Liam Fennelly | |
| Date of birth | January 1, 1958 | |
| Place of birth | Piltown , County Kilkenny | |
| Club information | ||
| Club | Ballyhale Shamrocks | |
| Position | Forward | |
| Inter-County | ||
| County | Kilkenny | |
| Position | Forward | |
| Inter-County(ies)** | ||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) |
| Kilkenny | 1982-1992 | 31 (21-21) |
| Senior Inter-County Titles | ||
| Leinster Titles | 6 | |
| All-Ireland | 3 | |
| All Stars | 4 | |
|
* club appearances and scores |
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Liam Fennelly (born 1 January 1958) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with the KIlkenny inter-county team from 1982 until 1992.
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[edit] Early & private life
Liam Fennelly was born in Piltown, County Kilkenny in 1958. At the age of three his family moved to Ballyhale where his father had bought a farm. From an early age Fennelly and his six brothers – Ger, Michael, Kevin, Brendan, Seán and Dermot – all took a great interest in the game of hurling. It was at Ballyhale national school that they first played the game and, in time, all the Fennelly boys would go on to play for club and county.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club
In his youth Fennelly quickly became a member of the newly-formed Ballyhale Shamrocks club, a club which is father helped to found. He had much success with the club, beginning in 1978 when he was a key member of the senior team when Ballyhale won their first county title. This was later converted into a Leinster club title, however, Ballyhale were narrowly beaten by Blackrock in the All-Ireland final.
Fennelly added two further county medals to his collection in 1979 and 1980. In the latter year he won a second Leinster title before finally winning his first All-Ireland club title at the beginning of 1981. In 1982 and 1983 he won another brace of county championship medals. The 1983 win was once again converted into a Leinster title as well as a second All-Ireland club title at the start of 1984. Fennelly brought his county championship tally up to eight with wins in 1985, 1988 and 1989. In 1989 he also won his fourth Leinster club medal before converting this into his third All-Ireland club title. On the occasion of the final all seven Fennelly brothers lined out for Ballyhale, a record which will probably never be beaten. Fennelly won his ninth county medal with Ballyhale in 1991.
[edit] Inter-county
Fennelly’s hurling skills were quickly noted and he joined the Kilkenny minor hurling panel in the mid-1970s. It was a glorious era for the county’s minor hurling team as they dominated the minor provincial championship for the entire decade, however, Fennelly’s team failed in the All-Ireland final of 1976. He later played on the county’s under-21 side where he had little success.
By the early 1980s Fennelly had joined the Kilkenny senior hurling panel. ‘The Cats’ had played second fiddle to Offaly for two seasons, however, Fennelly’s side returned at the start of 1982 to win the National Hurling League. He later went on to win his very first Leinster title before defeating Cork to win his first All-Ireland medal. In 1983 Kilkenny completed the treble of National League, Leinster and All-Ireland victories once again, giving Fennelly, the captain of the team, his second winners’ medals in each competition. His performance throughout the championship earned him his first All-Star award.
Three years later in 1986 Fennelly won his third National League title before claiming a third provincial medal. His side were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. In 1987 Fennelly won another Leinster medal with Kilkenny, however, his side were later beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland final. This game represented a swansong for the Fennelly hurling dynasty at inter-county level, as Kevin, Seán, Liam, and Ger Fennelly all played that day. In spite of losing his performance earned him a third All-Star award. Three years later in 1990 Fennelly won his fourth and final National League medal, before winning a fifth Leinster medal in 1991. Unfortunately, Tipperary got the better of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.
In 1992 Fennelly was captain of his native-county once again. It was also his last championship season as a player. In spite of his impending retirement Fennelly played a key role as he captured his sixth provincial title. A win over Cork in the subsequent All-Ireland final gave Fennelly is third All-Ireland medal. He finished off the year by winning his fourth All-Star award.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Cody |
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Captain 1983-1984 |
Succeeded by Kieran Brennan |
| Preceded by Christy Heffernan |
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Captain 1992 |
Succeeded by Eddie O'Connor |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by Brian Cody (Kilkenny) |
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final winning captain 1983 |
Succeeded by John Fenton (Cork) |
| Preceded by Declan Carr (Tipperary) |
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final winning captain 1992 |
Succeeded by Eddie O'Connor (Kilkenny) |
[edit] Teams
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