John Horgan (hurler)

John Horgan (born 25 May 1950) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a left corner-back for the Cork senior team.^[1][2]

Regarded as one of Cork's all-time most popular players, Horgan joined the team during the 1970 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1981 championship. During that time he won four All-Ireland medals, six Munster medals, three National League medals and three All-Star awards.^[3]

At club level Horgan was a three-time All-Ireland medalist with Blackrock. In addition to this he has also won four Munster medals and five county club championship medals.

Playing career

Club

Horgan began his club hurling career with Passage West, however, after a largely unsuccessful juvenile and underage career he transferred to Blackrock in 1968.

In 1971 he lined out in his first senior decider as Blackrock faced St. Finbarr's. After a decade in the doldrums the Rockies were back and a 2–19 to 5–4 victory secured a championship medal for Horgan. Blackrock subsequently represented Cork in the provincial series of games and faced Moyne-Templetuohy in the decider. An impressive 4–10 to 3–1 victory gave Horgan a Munster medal.^[4] The subsequent All-Ireland decider pitted Blackrock against Rathnure. A high-scoring game followed, however, a narrow 5–13 to 6–9 victory gave Horgan a coveted All-Ireland medal.

Blackrock surrendered their club, provincial and All-Ireland decider the following year, however, in 1973 Horgan lined out in a second county championship final. A 2–12 to 2–10 defeat of Glen Rovers gave him a second championship medal. A subsequent two-point defeat of Newmarket-on-Fergus in the provincial decider gave Horgan a second Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Blackrock against Rathnure. A rousing draw was followed by a great replay. Superb late goals by Donie Collins and Éamonn O'Donoghue secured a 3–8 to 1–9 victory and a second All-Ireland medal for Horgan as captain.

Once again back-to-back championship titles eluded the Rockies, however, a 4–11 to 0–10 defeat of Glen Rovers in 1975 gave Horgan a third championship medal. He later added a third Munster medal to his collection following a decisive 8–12 to 3–8 defeat of Mount Sion. Kilkenny's James Stephen provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Five points down at half-time, the Kilkenny club came storming back and defeated Horgan's side by 2–10 to 2–4.

It was 1978 before Horgan enjoyed his next success. A 4–12 to 1–7 defeat of Glen Rovers gave him a fourth championship medal. Once again the Rockies stormed through the provincial championship and defeated Newmarket-on-Fergus by two goals, giving Horgan a fourth Munster medal. The All-Ireland final saw Cork take on Kilkenny again. This time it was Blackrock versus Ballyhale Shamrocks. Ray Cummins scored two goals in rapid succession in the opening thirty minutes to put Blackrock in the driving seat. At the full-time whistle Blackrock were the winners by 5–7 to 5–5, giving Horgan a third All-Ireland medal as captain.

A 2–14 to 2–6 defeat of St. Finbarr's in 1979 gave Horgan his fifth and final championship medal. It was the first time that Blackrock had won back-to-back championships in almost fifty years.

Minor and under-21

Horgan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1966. He made his debut in the provincial decider that year and collected a Munster medal following a 6–7 to 2–8 defeat of Galway. Cork later faced Wexford in the All-Ireland decider, however, a high-scoring 6–7 apiece draw was the result. The replay was much more conclusive with Wexford claiming a 4–1 to 1–8 victory.

In 1967 Horgan added a second Munster medal to his collection in the minor grade following a 4–10 to 0–3 rout of Limerick. Cork later faced Wexford in the All-Ireland decider once again. A 2–15 to 5–3 victory gave Horgan a coveted All-Ireland medal.

Cork secured a third successive provincial title in 1968 with Horgan collecting his third Munster medal following a high-scoring 7–8 to 5–4 defeat of Waterford. For the third successive Wexford provided the opposition in the All-Ireland decider and went on to claim a 2–13 to 3–7 victory.

In 1970 Horgan joined the Cork under-21 hurling team. He won a Munster medal in that grade that year 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 Horgan won an All-Ireland medal following a 5–17 to 0–8 thrashing.

Horgan was eligible for the under-21 grade once again in 1971, and added a second Munster medal to his collection as Tipp were downed once again. Wexford stood in the way of Cork securing a second successive championship and a high-scoring game ensued. A 7–8 to 1–11 victory gave Horgan his second All-Ireland medal.

Senior

Horgan 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 Horgan made 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 Horgan his first All-Ireland medal.^[5]

After a disappointing 1971 championship campaign, Horgan was dropped from the starting fifteen in 1972.

By 1974 Horgan was back on the starting fifteen and won a second National League medal as Cork defeated Limerick on a huge score line of 6–15 to 1–12.

The following year Horgan came on as a substitute to win his second Munster medal following a 3–14 to 0–12 defeat of reigning provincial champions Limerick.

1976 saw Horgan win a third 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 Horgan his second All-Ireland medal after coming on as a substitute.

Horgan was back on the starting fifteen in 1977. A 4–15 to 4–10 defeat of newly crowned National League champions Clare gave him a fourth Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider was a repeat of the previous year as Wexford stood in the way of a second successive title. Seánie O'Leary played the game with a broken nose after being hit in the face by a sliotar in a pre-match warm-up while the two oldest men on the team, Denis Coughlan and Gerald McCarthy, gave noteworthy displays. Martin Coleman made some miraculous saves in the dying minutes as Cork held on for a 1–17 to 3–8 victory. It was Horgan's third All-Ireland medal.

In 1978 Cork set out to secure an impressive third successive All-Ireland title. The team go off to a good start with Horgan contributing four points from left corner-back in a 0–13 to 0–11 defeat of Clare in a dour provincial decider. It was his fifth Munster medal. This victory paved the way for Cork to take on Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The stakes were high as Cork were attempting to capture a first three in-a-row since 1954. The game, however, was not the classic that many expected. Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes and a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1–15 to 2–8 victory over their age-old rivals.^[6][7] This victory gave Cork a third All-Ireland title in succession and gave Horgan a fourth and final All-Ireland medal. He finished off the year by being named the Texaco Hurler of the Year.

Horgan was appointed captain in 1979 as Cork set about capturing a record-equaling fourth successive All-Ireland. All went to plan as the Rebels secured a fifth consecutive provincial title following a 2–14 to 0–9 defeat of Limerick. It was Horgan's sixth and final Munster medal. Age and the exertions of the three previous campaigns finally caught up with Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and a 2–14 to 1–13 defeat by Galway brought the four-in-a-row dream to an end.^[8]

Two years later in 1981 Horgan enjoyed his final success with Cork, as a 3–11 to 2–8 defeat of an up-and-coming Offaly team secured his third National League medal. Cork exited the subsequent championship at the first hurdle and Horgan decided to retire from inter-county activity as a result of an Achilles tendon problem.

Inter-provincial

Horgan also had the honour of being selected for Munster in the inter-provincial series of games. He made his debut with the province in 1971 and was a regular at various intervals until his retirement in 1980.^[9]

After facing defeat by Leinster in his debut season in 1971, it would take five years before Horgan made his way back onto the team. A narrow 4–9 to 4–8 defeat of Leinster gave him his first Railway Cup medal.

Two-in-a-row proved beyond Munster, however, Horgan lined out in a fourth decider in 1978. Connacht were downed on a score line of 0–20 to 1–11, giving him a second and final Railway Cup medal.

Post-playing career

In retirement from playing Horgan has maintained a key interest in hurling. He trained Blackrock's senior hurling team for a season in 1982, before taking a break from the game for almost twenty years. He returned to coaching in 2002 and trained Castlelyons to a senior championship semi-final. Horgan later trained the Douglas senior hurling team.

Personal life

Born in Barrack Street close to the heart of Cork city, Horgan was educated locally at Sullivan's Quay CBS. His family later moved to Rochestown and he has lived there for most of his life.

Horgan worked as a coal merchant for many years before opening his own pub in Ringaskiddy in the early 1990s. He currently runs his own school of motoring in Rochestown.

Honours

Team

Blackrock

• All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship (3): 1972 (c), 1974 (c), 1979 (c)
• Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (4): 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978
• Cork Senior Club Hurling Championship (5): 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979

Cork

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (4): 1970, 1976, 1977, 1978
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (6): 1970, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (c)
• National Hurling League (3): 1969–70, 1973–74 (c), 1980–81
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1970, 1971
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1970, 1971
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1967
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (3): 1966, 1967, 1968

Munster

• Railway Cup (2): 1976, 1978

Individual

Awards

• Texaco Hurler of the Year (1): 1978
• All-Star Awards (3): 1974, 1977, 1978
• Left corner-back on the Club Hurling Silver Jubilee Team: 1971–1996

References