Damien Martin

Damien Martin

Personal information
Irish name	Damien Ó Máirtín
Sport	Hurling
Position	Goalkeeper
Born	2 October 1946 (1946-10-02) (age 65) Banagher, County Offaly
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Occupation	Estate agent
Club(s)
Years	Club
1964-1987	St. Rynagh's
Club Titles
Offaly titles	13 (1 as sub)
Leinster titles	3
All-Ireland Titles	0
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
1964-1986	Offaly
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles	4 (1 as sub)
All Irelands	2 (1 as sub)
NHL	0
All Stars	1

Damien Martin (born 2 October 1946 in Banagher, County Offaly) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and was a member of the Offaly senior inter-county team from the 1960s until the 1980s. Martin has the distinction of being presented with the very first All-Star award. He was inducted into the Offaly Hurling Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Leinster GAA Hall of Fame in 2008. Damien's son Eunan was a member of the All-Ireland winning Offaly Hurling team in 1998 making Damien and Eunan the only father and son combination with All-Ireland medals in Co. Offaly.

Playing career

Club

Martin played his club hurling with his local club called St. Rynagh's. His tally of thirteen senior county championship winners' medals, annexed between 1965 and 1987, is an Offaly record. Martin won his medals in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1987. He won his first twelve medals on the field of play and the thirteenth as sub goalkeeper in 1987 when David Hughes was between the posts.^[1] Three of these county championship victories were subsequently converted into Leinster club titles for Martin.

Inter-county

Martin first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Offaly minor team in the early 1960s. He enjoyed little success in this before later joining the county under-21 team. With this team he line dout in the Leinster decider of 1967, with Dublin providing the opposition. That game was a close affair, however, Dublin claimed a 2-10 to 2-9 victory.

By this stage Martin had already made the break onto the Offaly senior team. He made his debut in the senior grade in a National Hurling League game in 1964. He was only seventeen years-old. In hurling terms Offaly had always lagged behind near rivals Kilkenny and Wexford in the Leinster Championship, however, the tide was turning.

In 1969 Offaly reached their first ever Leinster decider with Martin playing in goals. Kilkenny provided the opposition on that occasion. Many expected Offaly to be wiped out by 'the Cats', however, the game was a lot closer than people expected. Kilkenny's goal-scoring abilities proved the key to success as they won by 3-9 to 0-16.

Two years later Offaly were still lagging behind the rest of Leinster's hurling teams. In spite of this Martin's performances during the championship were recognised when he made history by receiving the very first GAA All Star award and, although it was his only All Star, it was a huge achievement for Martin and Offaly. The rest of the 1970s were bleak for Martin and for Offaly hurling.

Everything changed for Offaly in 1980 with the appointment of Dermot Healy as coach of the senior inter-county team. He placed great emphasis on returning to the simple skills of the game, something which became a trademark of Offaly’s hurling style.^[2] That year Martin lined out in his second Leinster final. It was only Offaly’s sixth appearance in the provincial decider; however, the Offaly supporters and the hurling world at large expected yet another win for reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny. Martin's side were well prepared for the game and at half-time they only trailed by 3-6 to 1-10. At the full-time whistle Offaly were the winners by the incredible score line of 3-17 to 5-10. Not only was it Martin's first Leinster title but it was also Offaly’s first provincial triumph. The victory was tinged with sadness, however, as Tommy Horan, father of Offaly star Pádraig Horan, died at his home while listening to the match.^[3] The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Offaly take on Galway, however, it was apparent that in winning the Leinster final the Offaly team had reached the peak of their ambition for that year. Victory went to Galway on that occasion by 4-9 to 3-10.^[4]

In spite of defeat in the All-Ireland series in 1980 Offaly bounced back and reached the Leinster final for the second consecutive year in 1981. Wexford provided the opposition on that occasion, however, Martin's side were very much on the up at the time. A narrow 3-12 to 2-13 victory gave Offaly the win and gave Martin a second consecutive Leinster winner’s medal. Furthermore, this victory allowed Offaly to advance directly to the All-Ireland final where Galway, the reigning champions, were the opponents. An exciting game developed between these two breakthrough hurling teams with both sides exchanging tit-for-tat scores. After fourteen minutes Pat Carroll scored the opening goal of the game for Offaly, however, neither side built up a strong lead. Straight after the interval Martin was doing great work when he batted out an almost certain Galway goal. With just over twenty minutes left in the game Galway led by six points, however, the team failed to score for the rest of the match. Offaly, on the other hand, reduced this lead. Johnny Flaherty’s hand-passed goal with three minutes was the deciding score of the game. At the full-time whistle Offaly were the winners by 2-12 to 0-15.^[5] There were great scenes of joy at Croke Park as Offaly and Martin celebrated their very first All-Ireland title.

Offaly were outclassed by Kilkenny in back-to-back Leinster finals in 1982 and 1983, however, the men from the ‘faithful county’ were back in 1984. That year Offaly made a fifth consecutive appearance in the provincial final. Wexford provided the opposition on that occasion and another close game developed. At the full-time whistle Offaly were the winners by 1-15 to 2-11. A single point victory gave Martin his third Leinster winners’ medal. A subsequent 4-15 to 1-10 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final allowed Offaly to advance to the centenary All-Ireland final at Semple Stadium in Thurles. On the day, however, Cork were far too strong for Martin's team. Although far from being a classic game Offaly were defeated by 3-16 to 1-12.^[6]

In 1985 Martin lost his place on the team to John Troy. In spite of this he was still a member of the panel as he collected his fourth Leinster winners' title and a second All-Ireland winners' medal as a non-playing substitute.^[7]

Martin returned as first-choice goalkeeper again in 1986 as Offaly lined out in an impressive seventh Leinster decider in-a-row. Kilkenny were the opponents on that occasion, however, Offaly were now a team in decline. A 4-10 to 1-11 score line gave victory to ‘the Cats’ and knocked Offaly out of the championship. After 22 years in senior hurling Martin retired from inter-county hurling following this defeat.

Provincial

Martin also lined out with Leinster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He first came to prominence as a substitute with his province in 1971 as Leinster defeated Munster by 2-17 to 2-15. Martin added a second consecutive Railway Cup medal to his collection in 1972 following another win over Munster. It was 1979 before he picked up his third and final winners' medal in that competition, as Connacht were defeated by four points.^[8]

References

1. ^ "Brian Whelahan chasing Damien Martin's record". www.offalyexpress.ie. 2008-10-16. http://www.offalyexpress.ie/offaly-senior-hurling-final-special/Brian-Whelahan-chasing-Damien-Martin39s.4593512.jp. Retrieved 2008-12-28. 
2. ^ Captains of the Ash p. 42
3. ^ Captains of the Ash p. 43
4. ^ The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 7
5. ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline. p. 360. 
6. ^ The GAA Book of Lists p. 361
7. ^ The GAA Book of Lists p. 361-362
8. ^ "Leinster Railway Cup Winning Teams". Leinster GAA. http://leinster.gaa.ie/archive/pdf/P70_75RailwayCup.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-28. 

Teams

Persondata
Name	Martin, Damien
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 October 1946
Place of birth	Banagher
Date of death
Place of death