Pat McDonnell

Pat McDonnell (born 1950 in Inniscarra, County Cork) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Inniscarra and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1970 until 1976.^[1]

Biography

McDonnell attended Presentation Brothers College, Cork, where he played Munster Schools Cup Rugby. Indeed, this was during the infamous "Ban" years where McDonnell would be "spotted" playing rugby, and subsequently he would receive a suspension. The suspension would finish in time for him to play for the Cork Minor Hurling team.

McDonnell later became a teacher and taught at Coláiste Iognaid Rís at Deerpark, St. Patrick's Road Cork, teaching Science. In 1979 he moved to the then new Bishopstown Community School. He is currently Principal of this school. [1]

Playing career

Club

McDonnell played his club hurling with his local Iniscara club in West Cork. He never won a senior county championship title.

Inter-county

McDonnell first came to prominence as a hurler in the late 1960s as a member of the Cork minor hurling team. He won a Munster minor medal in 1968, before moving on to the county's under-21 side. In 1969 he missed the Munster under-21 final but later claimed an All-Ireland medal with Cork. Two more All-Ireland under-21 medals followed in 1970 and 1971 (as captain), as Cork became the first team to win three-in-a-row at under-21 level.

By this stage McDonnell was also a star at full-back on the Cork senior hurling team. He began his senior career in 1970 by winning his first National Hurling League medal. He later won a Munster medal before claiming his first senior All-Ireland title following a win over Wexford in the first 80-minute All-Ireland final. He finished off the year on a successful note by becoming one of the youngest players ever to be named Hurler of the Year. Two years later in 1972 McDonnell captured a second National League title before winning his second Munster title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Kilkenny came back from eight points down to deny Cork the title in a classic game. It would be 1975 before McDonnell won a third provincial medal, however, Galway accounted for Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. The following year he won a fourth Munster senior medal before winning his second All-Ireland title following a win over Wexford. In 1977 McDonnell added a fifth and final Munster medal to his collection, however, he didn't play any part in Cork's All-Ireland victory over Wexford once again. He retired from inter-county hurling following that game.

In retirement from playing McDonnell became involved as a selector with various All-Ireland winning Cork teams at various levels.

Teams

References