Din Joe Buckley

Din Joe Buckley (born 1919-2009) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Glen Rovers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1940 until 1949. Buckley was the last surviving member of Cork's four-in-a-row team of the 1940s.

Early life

Din Joe Buckley was born in Blackpool, a staunchly working-class area on the north side of Cork. He was educated locally at the North Monastery where he first played hurling on the school’s Harty Cup team.

Playing career

Club

Buckley played his club hurling with Glen Rovers, one of the most famous clubs of all-time. In 1938 he joined his brothers Connie and Jack on the club’s senior team and won his first senior county championship title in the process. He subsequently won another three successive county medals in the year’s to follow. Buckley added to these four titles by bringing his overall tally to eight following wins in 1944, 1945, 1948 and 1949.

Inter-county

Buckley first came to prominence in 1940 as a member of the Cork senior hurling team. That year he won a National Hurling League medal, however, Cork faltered in the Munster Championship. In 1941 Buckley added a second National League title to his collection, however, the Munster and All-Ireland championships were severely hampered due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. As a result of this Cork were declared the Munster champions after defeating Limerick and automatically qualified to play Dublin in the All-Ireland final. The game turned into a rout as Cork beat ‘the Dubs’ by twenty points and Buckley collected his first All-Ireland medal. In the delayed Munster final, however, Tipperary defeated Cork.

In 1942 Buckley collected his first Munster title following Cork’s Munster final victory over Tipperary. He later added a second All-Ireland medal to his collection following a second consecutive defeat of Dublin in the final. Buckley missed Cork’s Munster final victory over Waterford in 1943, however, he later won a third consecutive All-Ireland medal following a huge win over Antrim in the championship decider. 1944 was an historic year for Cork and for Buckley. He began the year by winning a second Munster title following a victory in a replay over Limerick. Cork later went on to defeat Dublin in the championship decider giving Cork and Buckley a fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row. No other team in the history of hurling has won four consecutive championships. It is an honour that Buckley shares with just eight other players. Cork lost their provincial crown in 1945, however, the team returned in 1946 with Buckley winning a third Munster medal. This was subsequently converted into a fifth All-Ireland medal following a huge victory over Kilkenny in the final. Buckley added a third National League medal to his collection in 1947, before winning a fourth Munster title. However, Cork were later defeated by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.

References