Seánie Barry

Fr. Seánie Barry (born 1945 in Rathcormac, County Cork) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Rathcormac, UCC and Bride Rovers throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Barry was also a member of the Cork senior inter-county team throughout the 1960s.

Playing career

Minor & under-21

Barry first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in the early 1960s. He lined out for Cork in this grade in 1963, however, his side was defeated in the early rounds of the championship. In 1964 Barry was a key member of both the Cork under-21 and intermediate hurling teams. Success was slow in coming but the big breakthrough for Cork and Barry came in 1966. That year he won a Munster title with the under-21 team following a 5-12 to 2-6 defeat of Limerick .^[1] The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork play Wexford in an interesting encounter. After an entertaining sixty minutes of hurling both sides finished level with Cork scoring 3-12 to Wexford’s 5-6. The replay took place shortly afterwards, however, both sides finished all square again with 4-9 apiece. A second replay had to be played to eventually find a winner. At the third time of asking Cork emerged victorious with a huge tally of 9-9 to 5-9. This victory gave Cork their first All-Ireland title in this grade and gave Barry a coveted All-Ireland under-21 medal.^[2]

Senior

By this stage Barry was also making a name for himself as a member of the Cork senior team. The decade after the 1956 All-Ireland final appearance was a bleak period for Cork’s senior hurling team; however, in 1966 Barry was a key player on the half-forward line as Cork hurling returned to the big time. That year Cork avoided Tipperary, their old tormentors in the provincial championship, and qualified for a Munster showdown with Waterford. An entertaining hour of hurling followed, however, victory went to Cork for the first time in ten years. It was Barry's first senior Munster medal. This victory allowed Cork to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where arch-rivals Kilkenny provided the opposition. It was the first meeting of these two great sides since 1947 and ‘the Cats’ were installed as the firm favourites. In spite of this two goals by Colm Sheehan and a third from John O'Halloran gave Cork a merited 3-9 to 1-10 victory over an Eddie Keher inspired Kilkenny.^[3] It was Barry's first senior All-Ireland medal.

The next few years proved difficult for Barry as he was on and off the team. In 1970 Cork were regarded as one of the best teams in the country and expectations were high. For the third year in-a-row Cork qualified for the Munster final where Tipperary provided the opposition. It was the first eighty minute final in the history of the provincial championship and a close affair developed. Barry came on as a substitute and at the final whistle Cork were the victors by 3-10 to 3-8 and he captured his second Munster title on the field of play. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Wexford were the opponents. That game broke all records with a huge 64-point score line. Cork's Eddie O'Brien scored a hat-trick of goals to help his team to a 6-21 to 5-10 victory. Barry played no part in the victory, however, he was one of the substitutes^[4] It was McCarthy’s second All-Ireland medal.

References