Ger Fennelly

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Ger Fennelly
irish = Gearóid Ó Fionnalaigh
fullname = Gerard Fennelly
placeofbirth = Piltown
countryofbirth = County Kilkenny
dob =
height =
nickname =
county = Kilkenny
province = Leinster
club = Ballyhale Shamrocks
clposition = Half-forward
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Kilkenny
icposition = Half-forward
icyears = 1974-1989
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 6
icallireland = 3
nhl = 3
allstars = 1
clupdate =
icupdate = Ger Fennelly (born 1954 in Piltown, County Kilkenny) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and was a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1974 until 1989.

Biography

Ger Fennelly was born in Piltown, County Kilkenny in 1954. The second eldest son of Kevin Fennelly and the former Teresa Hoyne, he was born into a family that had a huge interest in the game of hurling. At the age of seven the entire family moved to Ballyhale where they purchased a farm. Here Fennelly was educated at the local national school where his hurling skills were first noted and honed by the local teachers, Peadar O’Neill and Joe Dunphy. [cite book| first=Brendan| last=Fullam| title=Captains of the Ash| publisher=Wolfhound Press| year=2002| id= | pages=57-58] His skills were also honed on the family farm where he, along with his six brothers – Michael, Kevin, Brendan, Liam, Seán and Dermot – trained.

Playing career

Club

The Fennelly’s have a long association with their local Ballyhale Sharmocks club. It was a club which Kevin Fennelly Snr. was instrumental in helping to found in 1972. ["Captains of the Ash" p. 58] By 1978 the new club had reached the top of the local hurling world and Fennelly played a key role as Ballyhale captured their first senior county title. This victory allowed the Shamrocks club to represent Kilkenny in the provincial club championship. The final of that competition saw Fennelly’s side take on Dublin champions Crumlin. A 1-13 to 1-6 victory gave Fennelly his first Leinster club title. The subsequent All-Ireland club final saw Ballyhale Shamrocks take on Cork’s famous Blackrock club. A ten-goal thriller saw Blackrock take the title by 5-7 to 5-5. [cite book| first=Eoghan| last=Corry| title=The GAA Book of Lists| publisher=Hodder Headline| year=2005| id= | pages=429]

Fennelly added two further county medals to his collection to make it three in-a-row in 1979 and 1980. This latter victory was later converted into a Leinster club title following a 3-10 to 1-8 victory over Coolderry of Offaly. Once again Ballyhale Shamrocks reached the All-Ireland final where the star-studded St. Finbarr’s club from Cork provided the opposition. On that occasion all seven Fennelly brothers lined out in an exciting contest. The sides were level on five occasions during the opening thirty minutes; however, the Shamrocks had the edge. At the full-time whistle Ballyhale were the winners by -15 to 1-11 and Fennelly collected his first All-Ireland club medal along with his six brothers. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 430]

Another brace of county championship victories followed for Fennelly in 1982 and 1983. Once again this latter victory was later converted into a Leinster club title following a six-point victory over Kinnitty of Offaly. Ballyhale later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Galway champions Gort were the opponents. That game ended in 1-10 apiece draw thanks to a last-minute equalizing point by Dermot Fennelly. The replay took place some time later with Ger Fennelly playing a starring role. His first-half goal was the deciding factor as Ballyhale won the day by 1-10 to 0-7. It was Fennelly’s second All-Ireland club medal. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 431]

The rest of the 1980s saw Fennelly bring his county championship tally up to eight with further wins in 1985, 1988 and 1989. The third of these victories was subsequently converted into fourth Leinster club title following a trouncing of the Cuala club from Dublin. Ballyhale later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Limerick and Munster representatives Ballybrown were the opponents. Ballybrown stormed into a six-point lead in the middle of the first-half before Fennelly scored a goal in the twenty-fourth minute. At half-time Ballybrown still led by four points, however, a surge by Ballyhale saw the Kilkenny side claim a 1-16 to 0-16 victory. It was Fennelly’s third All-Ireland medal. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 432]

Fennelly won his ninth and final county medal with Ballyhale in 1991.

Minor & under-21

Fennelly first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the early 1970s as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He won his first Leinster title in this grade in 1972 when Kilkenny recorded an enormous 7-10 to 0-4 victory over Wexford. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a repeat of the previous year as Kilkenny lined out against Cork. Fennelly’s team ran riot over the course of the sixty minutes and recorded another huge victory. The 8-7 to 3-9 score line gave Fennelly a coveted All-Ireland medal at minor level.

Fennelly subsequently joined the Kilkenny under-21 where he enjoyed further successes. After defeat in 1973 he was appointed captain in 1974 and won a Leinster medal after a 3-8 to 1-4 victory over Wexford. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a novel affair as Waterford, the surprise winners of the Munster title, provided the opposition. Kilkenny were the favourites going into the game, however, the final was a much closer affair than commentators had previously thought. A narrow 3-8 to 3-7 victory gave Kilkenny the win and gave Fennelly his first All-Ireland under-21 medal and the honour of collecting the cup. In 1975 Fennelly was in his last year with the under-21 team as Kilkenny continued their provincial dominance. Another huge 3-14 to 0-8 win over Wexford gave Fennelly a second consecutive Leinster under-21 title. Cork provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final and another interesting encounter developed. A final score of 5-13 to 2-19 gave Kilkenny the victory and gave Fennelly his second consecutive All-Ireland under-21 medal.

enior

While still a member of the Kilkenny under-21 team Fennelly joined the county senior panel in 1974. He was a non-playing substitute when Kilkenny won back-to-back Leinster and All-Ireland titles in 1974 and 1975.

Four years later in 1978 Fennelly was sprung from the bench in Kilkenny’s 2-16 to 1-16 defeat of reigning provincial champions Wexford. It was his first Leinster title on the field of play. Unfortunately, Fennelly played no part in Kilkenny’s subsequent 1-15 to 2-8 defeat by Cork in the All-Ireland final.

In 1979 Fennelly was honoured by being appointed captain of the Kilkenny senior hurling team. That year Kilkenny qualified for the provincial decider once again with Wexford providing the opposition. The game developed into a close affair; however, victory went to ‘the Cats’ by 2-21 to 2-17. It was Fennelly’s second Leinster title. This victory allowed Kilkenny to advance directly to the All-Ireland final. Galway provided the opposition on that occasion, however, the game turned out to be one of the least exciting finals of the decade. A goal by Noel Lane after forty-seven minutes gave Galway a two-point lead; however, Galway failed to score for the rest of the game. Kilkenny, on the other hand, scored two long-range goals to secure a 2-12 to 1-8 victory. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 360] It was Fennelly’s first All-Ireland medal on the field of play and he also had the honour of collecting the Liam McCarthy Cup.

Fennelly was still a key feature of the team in 1980; however, Offaly emerged as a new force in Leinster in both 1980 and 1981. In 1982 Fennelly added to his medal collection when Kilkenny captured the National Hurling League title before later lining out in Croke Park for the Leinster final. Offaly, the reigning provincial and All-Ireland champions were the opponents on that occasion and an interesting game developed. After a close seventy minutes of hurling Kilkenny emerged victorious by just two points and Fennelly collected his third Leinster winners’ medal. He subsequently lined out in the All-Ireland championship decider against Cork. Christy Heffernan was the hero of the day as he scored two goals in a forty second spell just before half-time. Fennelly himself captured a third goal in the second-half as Kilkenny completely trounced ‘the Rebels’ by 3-18 to 1-15. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 361] This victory gave Fennelly his second All-Ireland medal.

In 1983 Fennelly had one of his best seasons in the black and amber jersey. He began the year by capturing a second consecutive National League victory before lining out in the Leinster final against Offaly. It was their second consecutive meeting in the provincial decider, however, on this occasion the victory was more comprehensive on this occasion. A 1-17 to 0-13 win gave Fennelly his fourth Leinster medal. For the second year in-a-row ‘the Cats’ squared up to Cork in the All-Ireland final. Once again Kilkenny dominated the game, assisted by a strong wind in the first-half, and hung on in the face of a great fight-back by Cork. At the full-time whistle Kilkenny emerged victorious by 2-14 to 2-12. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 361] It was Fennelly’s third and final All-Ireland medal. He was later presented with his sole All-Star award.

Kilkenny’s fortunes took a downturn following this victory as Offaly won the next two Leinster titles. ‘The Cats’ bounced back in 1986 with Fennelly collecting a third National League medal before playing in the provincial decider against Offaly. A comprehensive 4-10 to 1-11 victory gave Fennelly his fifth Leinster winners’ medal. Following this win Kilkenny were firm favourites for the All-Ireland title, however, Galway got the better of them in the All-Ireland semi-final with a 4-12 to 0-13 victory.

In 1987 Kilkenny qualified for the provincial decider once again with Offaly providing the opposition. The game developed into a close affair; however, victory went to ‘the Cats’ by 2-14 to 0-17. It was Fennelly’s sixth and final Leinster title. This victory allowed Kilkenny to advance directly to the All-Ireland final. Galway provided the opposition on that occasion, however, the game turned out to be a drab affair once again. A goal by substitute Noel Lane with seven minutes to gave Galway the edge and they hung on to win by 1-12 to 0-9. ["The GAA Book of Lists" p. 362]

Two years later in 1989 Kilkenny were back in the Leinster final; however, Fennelly was now in the twilight of his career. Offaly, Kilkenny’s biggest rivals of the decade, provided the opposition and an exciting game developed. At the full-time whistle Offaly were the victors by 3-15 to 4-9. Fennelly retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.

Provincial

Fennelly also lined out with Leinster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He played in the Railway Cup finals in 1983 and 1984, however, Fennelly never ended up on the winning side.

Honours

Ballyhale Shamrocks

*All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship:
**Winner (2): 1981, 1984, 1990
**Runner-up (1): 1979
*Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship:
**Winner (4): 1978, 1980, 1983, 1989
**Runner-up (2): 1988, 1991
*Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship:
**Winner (9): 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991
**Runner-up (3): 1984, 1986, 1987

Kilkenny

*All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship:
**Winner (5): 1979, 1982, 1983
**Runner-up (1): 1987
*Leinster Senior Hurling Championship:
**Winner (8): 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987
**Runner-up (1): 1989
*National Hurling League:
**Winner (3): 1982, 1983, 1986
*All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship:
**Winner (2): 1974, 1975
*Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship:
**Winner (2): 1974, 1975
*All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship:
**Winner (1): 1972
*Leinster Minor Hurling Championship:
**Winner (1): 1972

References

Teams