Ken Hogan

Ken Hogan

Ken Hogan patrolling the sideline in a National Hurling League game against Galway in 2013
Personal information
Irish name	Séamus Cionnaith Ó hÓgain
Sport	Hurling
Position	Goalkeeper
Born	(1963-05-01) 1 May 1963 Lorrha, County Tipperary, Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nickname	Killer
Occupation	Garda Síochána
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Lorrha-Dorrha
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
1987–1993	Tipperary	25 (0-00)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	5
All-Irelands	2
NHL	1
All Stars	1
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:26, 8 March 2014.

James Kenneth "Ken" Hogan (born 1 May 1963) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Tipperary senior team.^[1]

Born in Lorrha, County Tipperary, Hogan first excelled at hurling whilst at school at the Presentation College, Birr. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team, before later joining the under-21 team. He joined the senior team during the 1986 championship. Hogan went on to play a key role for Tipperary during a successful era for the team, 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.

As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions throughout his career, however, Hogan never won a Railway Cup medal. At club level he played with Lorrha-Dorrha.

Throughout his career Hayes made 20 championship appearances for Tipperary. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1993 championship.

In retirement from playing, Hogan became involved in team management and coaching. He has served as manager of the Tipperary senior and under-21 teams, as well as a number of club teams.

Early life

From a young age Ken Hogan showed great skill at the game of hurling. He was educated at the local national school and later studied at the Presentation College in Birr, County Offaly. Here his hurling skills were further developed. Here Hogan won a Leinster colleges' titles.

Playing career

Club

Hogan began playing hurling with his local club, Lorrha-Dorrha, at a young age. He first tasted success with the club winning two under-14 'B' championship medals in 1976 and 1977. Hogan subsequently won a North Tipperary under-21 'B' medal in 1983. He also won two North Tipperary senior hurling championship medals, captaining his side to the title in 1989.

Minor and under-21

Hogan's talent as a hurler was quickly spotted by the Tipperary inter-county selectors and he joined the minor panel in 1980. That year he enjoyed his first major success when he captured a Munster title in that grade. He later lined out in the minor championship decider with Wexford providing the opposition. Tipp had a relatively comfortable 2–15 to 1–10 win, giving Hogan a coveted All-Ireland medal.^[2]

Hogan later joined the Tipperary under-21 panel, winning a Munster title at this level in 1983. He later lined out in the All-Ireland final against Galway. A final score of 0–12 to 1–9 in Galway's favour meant that Hogan ended up on the losing side.^[3] In 1984 he added a second consecutive Munster under-21 title to his collection before later lining out in a second consecutive All-Ireland final. Kilkenny were the opponents on that occasion, but Tipp were defeated again by 1–12 to 0–11.^[4] It was Hogan's last year with the county under-21 team.

Senior

Hogan subsequently joined the Tipperary senior panel and made his debut in 1987. It proved to be a successful year for Tipp as the county won its first Munster title in 16 years following a dramatic draw and a replay with Cork in FitzGerald Stadium, Killarney .^[5] In the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final Galway put an end to Tipp's dream season with a 3–20 to 2–17 defeat.

1988 began well for Hogan as he added a National Hurling League medal to his collection. He later captured his second Munster medal following another victory over Cork. A subsequent defeat of Antrim allowed Tipp to advance to the 'All-Ireland final against Galway. With an extra year's experience it was expected that Tipp might shade the victory. Galway, however, used this to motivate themselves. Noel Lane scored the crucial goal for Galway while Nicky English sent a late penalty over the bar for a point. A 1–15 to 0–14 score line resulted in victory for Galway.^[6]

In 1989 Tipperary were still the best team in Munster and Hogan won his third provincial title in-a-row after a 0–26 to 2–8 trouncing of Waterford. For the third time in as many years Tipp faced Galway in the All-Ireland series, but on this occasion the men from the West were without their star player Tony Keady. The game turned out to be a tense and unsavoury affair as Tipp finally triumphed over Galway. Antrim, the surprise winners of the other semi-final, provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. It was an historic occasion as it was only the second appearance of an Ulster team in the championship decider. Antrim's relative inexperience robbed the final of any real element of contest and Tipp romped home to a 4–24 to 3–9 win.^[7] Tipp thus preserved their record of being the only team to win an All-Ireland title in every decade in GAA history. It was Hogan's first senior All-Ireland medal.

In 1990 Tipperary surrendered their Munster crown to Cork for the first time in four years. This defeat followed Babs Keating's infamous remark about Cork that "donkeys don't win derbies".^[8]

Tipp returned in 1991 and defeated Cork in a thrilling Munster final replay giving Hogan his fourth provincial medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Tipp take on Kilkenny for the first time in twenty years. A freak goal by Michael Cleary in the first-half gave Tipp a lead which they never surrendered. A 1–16 to 0–15 victory allowed Hogan to capture his second All-Ireland medal in three years.^[9]

1992 saw Tipp exit the championship at an early stage, however, the team bounced back for one last hurrah in 1993. That year Hogan added a fifth Munster medal to his collection as Tipp trounced Clare by 3–27 to 2–12. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Tipp renew their rivalry with Galway; however, on this occasion Galway took the spoils. This defeat brought the curtain down on Tipp's great revival while also being an end to Hogan's inter-county career.^[10]

Managerial career

Tipperary Senior

Hogan maintained a keen interest in hurling following his retirement as a player. He served as a selector under Fr Tom Fogarty in the mid-1990s when Fogarty was Tipperary manager. He later held the same position under Nicky English in the early 2000s. Hogan succeeded Michael Doyle as manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team in 2003. He served as manager for two seasons but, apart from a Munster final appearance, had little success.

Tipperary Under-21

On 11 September 2010, Tipperary Under-21 hurlers, managed by Hogan, clinched the All Ireland Under-21 title by defeating Galway by 5–22 to 0–12 at Semple Stadium.^[11] Hogan managed the Under-21 team from 2009 until stepping down in 2013.^[12]

Honours

Tipperary

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (2)
  • 1989, 1991; runner-up 1988
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (5)
  • 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993; runner-up 1990
• National Hurling League (1)
  • 1987–1988; runner-up 1988–1989
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship
  • runner-up 1983, 1984
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (2)
  • 1983, 1984
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1)
  • 1980
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (1)
  • 1980; runner-up 1981

References

Teams