John Horgan (hurler)

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = John Horgan
irish = Seán Ó hOrgáin
fullname = John Horgan
placeofbirth = Barrack St
countryofbirth = Cork
bday=25
bmonth=5
byear= 1950
dyear=
dday=
dmonth=
height =
nickname = Hoggie
county = Cork
province = Munster
club = Blackrock
clposition = Corner-back
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Cork
icposition = Corner-back
icyears = 1970-1981
icapps(points) = 26 (0-16)
icprovince = 6
icallireland = 5
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

John Horgan (born 25 May, 1950) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1970s. He is regarded as one of Cork's greatest-ever players.Fact|date=April 2008

Early & private life

John Horgan was born in Barrack Street in Cork in 1950. He was educated locally at Sullivan’s Quay CBS and it was here that his sporting talents were first developed. He later played in the Blackrock Street Leagues in the early 1960s. His family later moved to Rochestown and he has lived there for most of his life. Horgan later 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.

Playing career

Club

Horgan began his club hurling career with Passage in east Cork. As a 16-year old he had the tough task of marking the legendary Christy Ring when Passage took on Glen Rovers in a league game. In 1967 Horgan joined the famous Blackrock club, subsequently winning a county minor title after just a few months with the club. In 1971 Horgan was captain of Blackrock. He guided the club to its first Cork SHC title in ten years. This was later converted into a Munster club title and an All-Ireland club title.

In 1973 Horgan was again captain of his club side and he captured another Cork SHC title. This was once again converted into Horgan’s second Munster and All-Ireland club titles. Two years later in 1975 Horgan once again steered Blackrock to county and Munster honours, however, James Stephens of Kilkenny had victory over Horgan’s side in the All-Ireland final. Blackrock were back in 1978, with Horgan capturing a hat trick of County, Munster and All-Ireland titles as captain. He captured his fifth Cork SHC title in 1979. This was subsequently converted into a fifth Munster club title.

Inter-county

Horgan’s hurling skills at county level brought him to the attentions of the Cork inter-county minor selectors. He made his inter-county debut in the Munster minor championship of 1966 and later captured an All-Ireland medal in 1967, following a win over Wexford. He quickly made the step up to under-21 level, where he won back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1970 and 1971.

By 1969 Horgan had made his senior debut with Cork in the National Hurling League. He later went on to win a National Le second Munster title.ague medal in 1970, before making his senior championship debut a few weeks later. Horgan subsequently captured his first Munster title, as well as his very first All-Ireland title following a victory over Wexford. The next few years proved difficult for Horgan as he struggled to keep a permanent spot on the team. He returned in 1974 as captain and won a second National League title. In 1975 Horgan came on as a substitute in the Munster final to capture his second Munster title. In 1976 Horgan had a semi-permanent spot on the team. He later captured his third Munster title, before coming on as a substitute in the All-Ireland final to claim his second All-Ireland medal. In 1977 Horgan won his fourth Munster medal after victory over Clare. Cork defeated Wexford in the All-Ireland final once again and Horgan captured his third All-Ireland title.

In 1978 Cork were aiming to capture a third All-Ireland title in succession. The year got off to a good start when they defeated Clare in the Munster final, with Horgan winning his fifth Munster medal. Kilkenny were defeated in the All-Ireland final as Cork and Horgan captured their third All-Ireland medals in-a-row. It was his fourth medal over all. His performance at left corner-back earned him a second consecutive All-Star, as well as a Texaco award as Hurler of the Year. In 1979 Horgan was appointed captain of the team. He guided Cork to another Munster title, his sixth provincial title over all. The dream of making it four All-Ireland titles in-a-row was stopped at the semi-final stage, however, when Galway defeated Cork. At the beginning of 1981 Horgan captured his third National League medal. He retired from inter-county hurling as a result of an Achilles tendon problem following Cork’s early exit from the championship that year.

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 Cork SHC semi-final. Horgan later trained the Douglas senior hurling team.

Teams