| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Ó Cofaigh | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Half-forward | ||
| Born | 26 October 1909 Newport, County Tipperary, Ireland |
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| Died | 29 December 2010 (aged 101) | ||
| Nickname | Butler | ||
| Occupation | Lorry driver | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1920s-1940s | Newport | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
| 1932-1940 | Tipperary | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 1 | ||
| All Irelands | 1 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
Jimmy 'Butler' Coffey (26 October 1909 – 29 December 2010)[1] was an Irish sportsperson. He was born in Newport, County Tipperary. He played hurling with his local Newport club and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1931 until 1940. Born in Newport, County Tipperary, Coffey held the distinction of being one of the oldest living senior All-Ireland medal winners[2] and turned 100 in October 2009.[3] Coffey died on 29 December 2010 aged 101.[4][5]
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Coffey played his club hurling with his local Newport club and enjoyed some success. He won two North Tipperary titles with the club in 1932 and 1935. Coffey later played club hurling with Ahane in County Limerick and won two senior county titles.
Coffey first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Tipperary minor team in 1928. He won a Munster title in this grade in 1930 before later collecting an All-Ireland medal as Tipp defeated Kilkenny.
Coffey made his senior debut for Tipp in 1931. It was a lean period for the county's senior hurling team as Limerick dominated the Munster championship throughout the 1930s. Their monopoly was ended in 1937 as Coffey collected his first senior Munster title. Due to a builders strike Croke Park was unavailable so the subsequent All-Ireland final was played in FitzGerald Stadium in Killarney. Kilkenny provided the opposition, however, the game turned into a rout as Tipp defeated 'the Cats' on a score line of 3-11 to 0-3 giving Coffey a coveted All-Ireland medal. Tipp went into decline following this match again and Coffey retired from inter-county hurling in 1940.
Coffey also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He captured a Railway Cup title with the province in 1938.
Following his retirement from hurling in the early 1950s Coffey did not sever his connection with the game. He trained the Cappamore team that brought county titles to the parish in both junior and senior grades. He was also a selector with Mick Mackey on the Limerick team that won the Munster title in 1955.
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