Cathal Naughton

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Cathal Naughton
irish = Cathal Mac Neachtáin
fullname = Cathal Naughton
placeofbirth = Newtownshandrum
countryofbirth = County Cork
dob =
height = 6'
nickname =
county = Cork
province = Munster
club = Newtownshandrum
clposition = Forward
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Cork
icposition = Right wing-forward
icyears = 2006-
icapps(points) = 10 (1-7)
icprovince = 0
icallireland = 0
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

Cathal Naughton (born 1987 in Newtownshandrum, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Newtownshandrum and with the Cork senior inter-county team.

Early life

Cathal Naughton was born in Newtownshandrum, County Cork in 1987. He was educated locally and, in his youth, he was noted as a great all-rounder at various sports. He moved to England as a Nottingham Forest F.C. trainee after being spotted playing with his local club Charleville F.C. but he left a year after to return home to play his first love of sport hurling. During his time as a soccer player he had a number of caps for Ireland and travelled the world with Nottingham Forest as a young player.

Playing career

Club

Naughton plays his club hurling with Newtownshandrum. He enjoyed some success at underage levels, before winning a senior county championship medal in 2005. This was later converted into a Munster club title, however, 'Newtown' were beaten by Portumna in the All-Ireland club final. In spite of this and defeats in recent years Newtown are still regarded as one of the top clubs in Cork.

Inter-county

Naughton first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in 2004 as a member of the Cork minor hurling team. He won a Munster title in that grade that year, however, All-Ireland success proved elusive. Naughton added a second Munster title to his collection in 2006, however, Cork failed in the All-Ireland series once again. He later progressed onto the county under-21 team where he won a Munster medal in 2007. Cork were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland final.

By this stage Naughton had already made an impact on the Cork senior hurling team. He made his senior championship debut in the 2006 All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford. Naughton came on as a surprise substitute and scored a goal and a point with his first two touches of the sliothar and effectively winning the match for Cork. He has made many appearances for Cork since then and is regarded as a player for the future, however, he has yet to win any silverware as senior level.

Teams