Seánie McGrath

Seánie McGrath (born 1975) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a left corner-forward for the Cork senior team.^[1]

Born in Mayfield, Cork, McGrath first excelled at hurling during his schooling at Mayfield Community School. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 1997 championship. McGrath went on to win one All-Ireland medal, two 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 McGrath won three Railway Cup medals. At club level he enjoyed a lengthy career with Glen Rovers.

Throughout his inter-county career McGrath made 17 championship appearances for Cork. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 2003 championship.

In retirement from playing McGrath became involved in team management and coaching. He is currently a selector with the Cork senior team, having earlier served with the Cork minor team.^[2]

Playing career

University

In 1997 McGrath was a key member of the University College Cork hurling team. As host of the Fitzgibbon Cup that year, UCC reached the final where they faced the Garda Síochána College. A 0–14 to 1–8 victory gave McGrath his first Fitzgibbon Cup medal.^[3]

McGrath won a second Fitzgibbon Cup medal in 1998, as UCC defeated Waterford Institute of Technology by 2–17 to 0–13.^[4]

Club

McGrath began his club hurling career with Mayfield before later joining the Glen Rovers club.

In 1995 McGrath won a championship medal in the under-21 grade, as the Glen had a narrow 2–14 to 1–14 victory over Ballincollig.

Inter-county

Having been overlooked by the Cork under-14 hurling team selectors, McGrath first came to prominence with the Cork minor team. He enjoyed little success in this grade before later joining the Cork under-21 team. In his final year with the team McGrath was captain of the side that captured a Munster title following a 3–16 to 2–7 trouncing of Clare.

On 8 June 1997 McGrath made his senior championship debut in a Munster semi-final. His five points from play were not enough as Cork faced a 1–19 to 0–18 defeat by Clare.

McGrath enjoyed his first senior success in 1998. A 2–14 to 0–13 defeat of Waterford gave him a coveted National Hurling League medal.

After a seven-year hiatus Cork claimed the provincial title in 1999. A 1–15 to 0–14 defeat of three-in-a-row hopefuls Clare gave McGrath his first Munster medal. Cork later faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland decider on 12 September 1999. In a dour contest played on a wet day, Cork trailed by 0–5 to 0–4 after a low-scoring first half. Kilkenny increased the pace after the interval, pulling into a four-point lead. Cork moved up a gear and through Joe Deane, Ben O'Connor and McGrath Cork scored five unanswered points. Kilkenny could only manage one more score – a point from a Henry Shefflin free – and Cork held out to win by 0–13 to 0–12.^[5] It was McGrath's first All-Ireland medal. He later won an All-Star.

McGrath won a second Munster medal in 2000, as Cork retained their title following a 0–23 to 3–12 defeat of Tipperary.

The following few years were difficult for McGrath, who failed to nail down a place on Cork's championship starting fifteen. He was an unused substitute when Cork defeated Waterford to take the Munster title in 2003, while he also started the subsequent All-Ireland final against Kilkenny on the bench. McGrath came on as a late substitute and scored Cork's last point of the match, however, it wasn't enough as Kilkenny triumphed by 1–14 to 1–11.^[6]

Inter-provincial

McGrath was first picked for the Munster inter-provincial team in 1997. It was a successful campaign for the southern province, as a 0–14 to 0–10 defeat of fierce rivals Leinster gave McGrath his first Railway Cup medal.

After back-to-back defeats over the next two years, success returned for Munster in 2000. A narrow 3–15 to 2–15 defeat of Leinster secured a second Railway Cup medal for McGrath. Munster retained the title in 2001, with McGrath collecting a third Railway Cup medal following a 1–21 to 1–15 defeat of Connacht in what was his last appearance for the province.

Coaching career

McGrath first became involved in coaching and team management when he spent two years as a Cork minor hurling team selector between 2009 and 2011. Cork enjoyed little success during those championship campaigns. In 2011 McGrath joined Jimmy Barry-Murphy's managerial team with the Cork senior hurlers.

In 2013 Cork reached the All-Ireland final, however, Clare defeated the Rebels after a classic draw and a replay.^[7][8]

McGrath enjoyed his first success as part of the management team in 2014 when Cork took the Munster title following a 2–24 to 0–24 victory over Limerick.^[9]

Media career

In retirement from playing McGrath served as a hurling analyst and pundit on radio, television and in the print media. On radio he was a regular with Newstalk's Off the Ball programme and on Cork's Red FM. On television he was an analyst with Setanta Sports during their coverage of the National League. McGrath also had a weekly column in the Evening Echo

Honours

Team

University College Cork

• Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 1997, 1998

Glen Rovers

• Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 1995

Cork

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 1999
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (3): 1999, 2000, 2003
• National Hurling League (1): 1998
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (3): 1996 (c)

Munster

• Railway Cup (3): 1997, 2000, 2001

Individual

Awards

• All-Star (1): 1999

Selector

• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2014

References