Nicky English

Nicky English

Personal information
Irish name	Nioclás Inglis
Sport	Hurling
Position	Full-forward
Born	1962 (age 51–52) Cullen, County Tipperary, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nickname	Nicky
Occupation	AIB marketing and sales manager
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Lattin-Cullen
Club Titles
Tipperary titles	0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
1982-1996	Tipperary	35 (20-117)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	5
All Irelands	2
NHL	1
All Stars	6
* Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 15:52, 14 December 2013.

Nicholas J. "Nicky" English (born 1962) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-forward for the Tipperary senior team.

Born in Cullen, County Tipperary, English first excelled at Gaelic games whilst at the Abbey CBS in Tipperary. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor football team, before later lining out with the under-21 sides as a dual player. He made his senior debut in the 1982 championship. English went on to play a key part for almost almost fifteen years, and won two All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and one National Hurling League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

English represented the Munster inter-provincial team at various times throughout his career, winning two Railway Cup medals. At club level he won a set of intermediate and junior championship medals with Lattin-Cullen. English also won a remarkable five successive Fitzgibbon Cup medals with University College Cork.

English's career tally of 20 goals and 117 points marks him out as Tipperary's third highest championship scorer of all-time.

Throughout his career English made 35 championship appearances. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1996 championship.

English is widely regarded as one of Tipperary's greatest ever players. Throughout his career he won six All-Star awards as well as Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1989. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including as left corner-forward on the Tipperary Hurling Team of the Century in 2000 and on a special Munster Hurling Team (1984-2009), as well as right corner-forward on the Fitzgibbon Cup Team of the Century.^[1]

In retirement from playing English has become involved in team management and coaching. As manager of the Tipperary senior team between 1998 and 2002 he steered the team to All-Ireland, Munster and National League honours. He has also taken charge of the University College Dublin team for the Fitzgibbon Cup.

English also works as a hurling analyst and co-commentator for TV3 during their coverage of the championship season. He also has a weekly hurling column in the Irish Times.

Biography

Nicholas English was born in the village of Cullen on the Limerick-Tipperary border in 1962. He was educated locally and from a young age he showed great skill at the game of hurling. Although his local club had a hurling tradition, they were primarily a football club, so for the most part, English practised his hurling skills alone. His father was also a huge influence as he was a huge follower of local and inter-county hurling. English later attended the Abbey Christian Brothers School in Tipperary town, where his hurling skills were further developed. He also won a Fitzgerald Shield following a win over Rockwell College.

English did his leaving certificate in 1980. He studied electrical engineering at University College Cork until May 1981.From September 1981 he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree and subsequently a H Dip in Education. At University College Cork he won five Fitzgibbon Cup medals in a row with UCC and scored in all five finals.

He currently works with Barclays Wealth and is a former member of the high-profile Hurling Development Committee.

In 1996 he published his autobiography "Beyond The Tunnel". The book was ghost written by Vincent Hogan of the Irish Independent.

Playing career

Club

English played his club hurling with his local Lattin-Cullen side. With the club English won an intermediate football title in 1989, a junior hurling title in 1992 and an intermediate hurling title in 1996.

Inter-county

In 1979 English joined the Tipperary minor hurling side but was eventually dropped from the team. He subsequently regained his place and won his first All-Ireland medal in 1980. By 1981 English had joined the under-21 team, where he shared in Tipperary's third All-Ireland victory in a row.

In 1982 English joined the senior team, but Tipperary hurling was in the doldrums at the time. He played in his first Munster final in 1984, but Cork snatched victory with two quick goals in the last few minutes. In spite of this defeat English was honoured with a second consecutive All-Star award. He added a third in 1985 after scoring 2-3 in the Munster Final defeat to Cork. Two years later in 1987 English won his first Munster title following a thrilling replay win against Cork in Killarney. Tipperary were subsequently defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, English won his fourth All-Star award. In 1988 English captured his first National Hurling League title before winning his second Munster medal. He subsequently captained the side in the 1988 All-Ireland final after the controversial dropping of the original captain, Pat O'Neill. Once again Galway defeated Tipperary but English was still presented with a fifth All-Star award. In 1989 English won his third Munster title in-a-row before finally getting the better of Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Surprisingly, Antrim provided the opposition in the 1989 All-Ireland final. However, they were wiped off the pitch on a scoreline of 4-24 to 3-9. English himself amassed a personal tally of 2-12 which is the second highest total ever in a McCarthy Cup final only surpassed by the 5 goals and 4 points scored by Gah Ahern of Blackrock and Cork in the 1928 final between Cork and Galway. If Tipperary had lost that final it would have been the first decade in Gaelic Athletic Association history in which the Premier County had failed to win an All-Ireland title. The year ended with English winning his sixth All-Star award and being named Texaco Hurler of the Year.

In 1990 Tipperary lost their Munster crown. Tipperary were back on form in 1991 with English winning his fourth provincial title. He later captured his second All-Ireland medal following a defeat of Kilkenny in the 1991 All-Ireland Final. Two years later in 1993 English won his fifth Munster medal when he came on as a substitute against Clare. Tipp, however, were later defeated in the All-Ireland semi-final by their old enemies Galway. English continued playing with Tipp until his retirement in 1996.

In 2000 English's reputation as one of Tipperary's greatest-ever players was cemented when he was named on the Tipperary Hurling Team of the Millennium.

Managerial career

Tipperary

In 1999 English took over as manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team. In his first year in charge, English's Tipperary won the National Hurling League, but failed to get anywhere in the Championship. Nevertheless, the following year, Tipperary reached the Munster Final, where they faced Cork. However, they were beaten 0-23 to 3-12,^[2] and went through to an All Ireland quarter final, where they were beaten by Galway.^[3]

In 2001 Tipperary won the National Hurling League for the first time since 1994. English subsequently guided his native county to their first Munster title since English himself was a player in 1993, beating Limerick in the final 2-16 to 1-17.^[4] Following this victory, Tipperary played an All Ireland semi final against the years losing Leinster finalists, Wexford. The game ended in a draw, and Tipperary won the replay 3-12 to 0-10.^[5] Tipperary subsequently captured their 25th All-Ireland title following a win over Galway on a scoreline of 2-18 to 2-15.^[6]

In 2002, Tipperary were beaten by Waterford in the Munster final 2-23 to 3-12.^[7] They won their qualifier match against Offaly and their All Ireland Quarter final against Antrim, to set up a semi final against Kilkenny where they were beaten 1-20 to 1-16.^[8] In the wake of this defeat, English resigned as manager.^[9]

In October 2010, various reports linked English with a return to Tipperary to succeed the departed Liam Sheedy as manager.^[10] He ruled himself out saying it was an honour to be associated with the vacancy and that he did give serious consideration to the possibility of taking on the role. He cited the difficulty in balancing the commitment required in managing an All Ireland winning squad coupled with his obligations to his employers AIB.^[11]

References

External links

• Tipperay Playing Career Record
• Nicky English Interview December 2001
• Interview February 2010
• Interview June 2012