Pat McDonnell

Pat McDonnell (born 1950) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-back for the Cork senior team.

McDonnell joined the team during the 1970 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1978 championship. During that time he won two All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and two National League medals. McDonnell was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

At club level McDonnell is a one-time junior championship medalist with Inniscarra.

Playing career

Club

McDonnell played his club hurling with Inniscarra and enjoyed some success during a lengthy career.

In 1975 Inniscarra reached the junior championship decider after winning the divisional crown. McDonnell was at full-back as Ballymartle provided the opposition. After leading by 2-2 to 1-2 at half-time, Inniscarra went on to score a further three goals after the interval. A 5-7 to 3-8 victory gave McDonnell a coveted junior championship medal.^[1]

University

During his studies at University College Cork McDonnell came to prominence in the senior hurling team in the Fitzgibbon Cup.

After losing the decider to fierce rivals University College Dublin in 1969, UCC returned to the Fitzgibbon Cup final again two years later. A comprehensive 2-16 to 2-6 defeat of University College Galway gave McDonnall his first Fitzgibbon Cup medal.

In 1972 UCC were back in their second successive Fitzgibbon decider. A 3-11 to 0-6 trouncing of University College Galway gave McDonnell his second Fitzgibbon Cup medal.

Minor and under-21

McDonnell first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1968. He made his debut in the provincial decider that year and collected a Munster medal following a high-scoring 7-8 to 5-4 defeat of Waterford. McDonnell was an unused sub for Cork's subsequent All-Ireland final defeat by Wexford.

In 1969 McDonnell made his under-21 debut in a Munster semi-final victory over Galway. He missed the subsequent provincial final victory but was introduced as a sub in the All-Ireland final against Wexford. A 5-13 to 4-7 victory gave McDonnell his first All-Ireland medal.

McDonnell won his first Munster medal in 1970 following a 3-11 to 2-7 defeat of Tipperary. Cork faced their old rivals Wexford in the subsequent All-Ireland decider, however, that game ended in a draw. In the replay Cork went into overdrive and McDonnell won a second All-Ireland medal following a 5-17 to 0-8 thrashing.

In 1971 McDonnell was named captain of the under-21 team and added a second Munster medal to his collection as Tipp were downed once again. Wexford stood in the way of Cork securing a record-breaking fourth successive championship and a high-scoring game ensued. A 7-8 to 1-11 victory gave McDonnell his third All-Ireland medal.

Senior

McDonnell made his senior debut for Cork during the 1969-70 National League. It was a successful campaign for the Rebels as an aggregate 5-21 to 6-16 defeat of New York gave him his first National Hurling League medal. The subsequent championship campaign saw McDonnell make his debut in a Munster semi-final defeat of Limerick. He later won his first Munster medal at senior level as Tipperary were accounted for by 3-10 to 3-8. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final with Wexford providing the opposition in the very first eighty-minute championship decider. The game saw a record 64-point score line for both teams as Cork's Eddie O'Brien scored a hat-trick of goals to give Cork a considerable lead. At the full-time whistle Cork were the winners by 6-21 to 5-10, giving McDonnell his first All-Ireland medal.^[2] He finished the year by being named Texaco Hurler of the Year.

After surrendering their league, provincial and All-Ireland titles in 1971, Cork bounced back the following year. A narrow 3-14 to 2-14 defeat of Limerick in the decider gave McDonnell his second National League medal. A subsequent 6-18 to 2-8 thrashing of Clare gave him a second Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider saw Cork face Kilkenny. The Rebels dominated the early exchanges and went eight points clear after a long-range score from wing-back Con Roche in the 17th minute of the second half. Remarkably they didn't didn’t score again. Kilkenny took control with Pat Henderson a key figure at centre-back and Eddie Keher cutting loose up front. They were level after a Frank Cummins goal and went onto win by eight points.^[3]

McDonnell was dropped from the Cork panel in 1973, however, he returned in 1975 and collected a third Munster medal following a 3-14 to 0-12 defeat of reigning provincial champions Limerick.

1976 saw McDonnell win a fourth Munster medal as Limerick were bested once again. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork face old rivals Wexford. In one of the worst starts to a championship decider, Cork were 2-2 to no score in arrears after just six minutes. The Rebels fought back to level matters by half-time, however, it was the long-range point-scoring by Pat Moylan that turned the game for Cork. A 2-21 to 4-11 victory gave McDonnell his second All-Ireland medal.

McDonnell remained at full-back for the 1977 championship campaign. A 4-15 to 4-10 defeat of newly crowned National League champions Clare gave him a fifth Munster medal. He played no part in Cork's subsequent All-Ireland victory.

In 1978 Cork set out to secure an impressive third successive All-Ireland title, however, McDonnell lost his place on the starting fifteen. He was an unused sub when Cork retained the Munster crown but was later left off the extended panel for Cork's subsequent All-Ireland victory over Kilkenny.^[4][5]

Inter-provincial

McDonnell also had the honour of being selected for Munster in the inter-provincial series of games.^[6]

He won his sole Railway Cup medal as an unused substitute in 1976, when Munster defeated Leinster by 4-9 to 4-8.

Post-playing career

In retirement from playing McDonnell became involved in team management and coaching.

He first enjoyed success as an inter-county selector in 1986 when he was part of the management of the Cork senior hurling team. A 2-18 to 3-12 defeat of Clare secured a record-equaling fifth successive Munster title. This victory paved the way for an All-Ireland final meeting with Galway. The men from the west were the red-hot favourites against a Cork team seen as being in decline, however, on the day a different story unfolded. Four Cork goals, one from John Fenton, two from Tomás Mulcahy and one from Kevin Hennessy, stymied the Galway attack and helped the Rebels to a 4-13 to 2-15 victory.

Over a decade later in 1997 McDonnell was back as a selector with the Cork under-21 team. A late goal by Timmy McCarthy against Tipperary secured the Munster crown by just a single point. The Rebels later qualified for the All-Ireland final with Galway providing the opposition. After a defeat at the hands of the men from the west the previous year, Cork gained revenge in 1997 with a 3-11 to 0-13 win in the championship decider. The victory was all the more spectacular as it was Cork's one hundredth All-Ireland title across all grades.

McDonnell was also a selector with the Cork senior team during a controversial period in 2002 when the players went on strike for better conditions.^[7]

Personal life

Born in Inniscarra, County Cork, McDonnell was educated at the local national school before later attending Presentation Brothers College. As well as concentrating on hurling, he also played rugby in the Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup at a time when the Gaelic Athletic Association had a "ban" on anyone playing "foreign sports".

McDonnell subsequently studied at University College Cork and qualified as a science teacher. He subsequently taught at Coláiste Iognaid Rís in Cork before moving to the then new Bishopstown Community School in 1979. McDonnell eventually rose to the position of principal of the school.

Honours

Team

Inniscarra

• Cork Junior Hurling Championship (1): 1975

University College Cork

• Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 1970-71, 1971-72

Cork

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (3): 1970, 1976, 1977 (sub)
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (6): 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 (sub)
• National Hurling League (2): 1969-70, 1971-72
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (3): 1969, 1970, 1971 (c)
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (3): 1969, 1970, 1971 (c)
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1968

Munster

• Railway Cup (1): 1976 (sub)

Individual

Awards

• Texaco Hurler of the Year (1): 1970

References