Seánie McGrath

Seánie McGrath (born 1975 in Mayfield, Cork) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local clubs Mayfield and Glen Rovers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1997 until 2003.^[1]

Early life

Seánie McGrath was born in Cork in 1975. He was educated at Scoil Eoin Aspal and Mayfield Community School and from an early age he showed a great interest in the game of hurling. McGrath attended University College Cork where his hurling skills came to the fore. He won two back-to-back Fitzgibbon Cup medals with the college in 1997 and 1998.

Playing career

Club

Seánie started his hurling playing with the Mayfield Club where he played until he was 15yrs old. McGrath subsequently moved to the famous Glen Rovers club on the north side of Cork city. He enjoyed some success at underage levels, however, he failed to win a senior county championship title with Glen Rovers.

Inter-county

McGrath's skill at club level brought him to the attention of the Cork inter-county selectors, and he quickly joined the county's minor hurling team. He had little success at this level, only ending up with a Munster runners-up title. He later played on the Cork under-21 team where he won a Munster medal. Unfortunately All-Ireland success at either minor or under-21 levels eluded him. McGrath made his senior debut in 1997 in a Munster Championship game against Clare. In spite of scoring five points that day he still ended up on the losing side. The following year he won a National Hurling League medal with Cork and in 1999 McGrath won his first Munster title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Cork defeated Kilkenny with McGrath collecting his first, and only, All-Ireland medal as a player. He won a second Munster medal in 2000, however, Cork were later defeated by Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final. McGrath's performance throughout the whole championship earned him an All-Star award. The following few years proved difficult for McGrath as Cork's hurling fortunes took a downturn. McGrath failed to secure a regular place on the team, and was only a substitute when Cork won the Munster Championship in 2003. He retired from inter-county hurling following Cork's defeat by Kilkenny in that year's All-Ireland final.

Inter-provincial

McGrath also lined out for Railway Cup duty with Munster. He won Railway Cup medals in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

References

Teams