Johnny Leahy
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| Johnny Leahy | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | |
| Full name | Johnny Leahy | |
| Place of birth | Boherlahen , County Tipperary | |
| Club information | ||
| Club | Boherlahen | |
| Position | Midfield | |
| Inter-County | ||
| County | Tipperary | |
| Position | Midfield | |
| Inter-County(ies)** | ||
| County | Years | Apps (scores) |
| Tipperary | 1909-1926 | |
| Senior Inter-County Titles | ||
| Munster Titles | 4 | |
| All-Ireland | 2 | |
|
* club appearances and scores |
||
Johnny Leahy (1 January 1890 – November 1949) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Boherlahen and with the Tipperary inter-county team from 1909 until 1926.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Johnny Leahy was born in Boherlahen, County Tipperary in the heart of the Golden Vale in 1890. He was educated locally, never married and worked as a farmer for all of his life.
Leahy came from a great sporting family with his brothers Paddy, Mick and Tommy all playing inter-county hurling at various times. Paddy won All-Ireland honours with Tipperary in 1916 and 1925. Tommy was a member of the successful Tipperary team of 1930. Mick was a substitute on the victorious team of 1916 and later moved to Cork where he played hurling with the famous Blackrock club. He won All-Ireland medals with Cork in 1928 and 1931.
Johnny Leahy also took part in the War of Independence in his native-county. One of his other brothers, Jimmy, was Vice-Comdt. of Tipperary No.2 Brigade of the Irish Republican Army.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club
Leahy played his club hurling with his local Boherlahen club. He played in his first county final in 1914, however, his side lost out to Toomevara. Boherlahan bounced back from this defeat to win the next four county championship titles. In all Leahy won ten county titles with victories also coming in 1920, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1928. He retired from club hurling at the age of forty in 1930, following Boherlahan’s defeat in the county final.
[edit] Inter-county
Leahy first played hurling with Tipperary in 1909, however, he didn’t establish himself on the county team until 1915. By 1916 he was captain of the inter-county team and captured his first Munster title later that same year. He later guided his men to victory over Kilkenny in the championship decider, giving Leahy his first All-Ireland medal. In 1917 Leahy captured his second Munster title, however, Tipp were later beaten in the All-Ireland final by Dublin. It would be 1922 before Leahy won his third Munster title, still as captain of the team. Unfortunately, Kilkenny claimed victory in the subsequent All-Ireland final. It would be another 45 years before they beat Tipp in the championship again. In 1925 Leahy added a fourth Munster medal to his collection before later captaining Tipp to an All-Ireland victory over Galway. It was Leahy’s second All-Ireland medal. In 1926 the Tipperary hurlers embarked on a coast-to-coast tour of the United States. It was during this journey that Leahy cemented his reputation as one of the most charismatic hurling captains of all-time.
Johnny Leahy died in November 1949.
| Preceded by ' |
Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1916-1918 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by Jack Finlay (Laois) |
All-Ireland Hurling Final winning captain 1916 |
Succeeded by John Ryan (Limerick) |
| Preceded by ' |
Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1925-1926 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by Frank Wall (Dublin) |
All-Ireland Hurling Final winning captain 1925 |
Succeeded by Seán Óg Murphy (Cork) |
