Ciaran Barr (born 1964 in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

with his local club O'Donovan Rossa and with the Antrim senior inter-county team from 1984 until 1994. He won an All Star award in 1988.

Playing career

Club

Barr played his club hurling with his local O'Donovan Rossa club and enjoyed some success. He won a senior county title with the club in 1988. It was the club's first county championship victory in eleven years. He also played with the

St Vincents GAA St Vincents is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club based in Marino, Dublin, Marino, on the northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The club was founded in 1931. Although the club's grounds were in Raheny for a number of years, i ...

club in Dublin and won a Senior Hurling Championship with them in 1993.

Inter-county

Barr first came to prominence on the inter-county scene with Antrim in the early 1980s. He played for the county minor team, but he enjoyed little success as Antrim played in the Leinster Championship during this period. Barr later won several

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

titles with the Antrim under-21 team. Barr made his debut with the Antrim senior hurling team in 1984, but he enjoyed little success in his first few seasons. In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

the

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship The Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Ulster Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inter-county hurl ...

was revived after a forty-year absence. That year Barr was the captain of the team and Antrim reached the final where Down provided the opposition. A 2-16 to 0-9 victory gave Barr his first senior Ulster title. Antrim later defeated

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final before lining out against

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the penultimate game of the championship in

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

. Offaly were the red hot favourites going into the game, but Barr's side had other ideas. Antrim shocked their opponents and won the game by 4-15 to 1-15. Offaly, in spite of losing, recognised the historic nature of the victory and gave Antrim a guard of honour as the team left the field. The 1989 All-Ireland final saw Antrim take on Tipperary for the first time since 1949. Antrim, however, were unable to repeat the heroics of the semi-final and lost to Tipp by 4-24 to 3-9. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Barr added a second Ulster title to his collection following another defeat of Down. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Antrim take on

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, but victory went to 'the Rebels' on that occasion by 2-20 to 1-13. Antrim made it three-in-a-row in Ulster in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

with Barr collecting his third provincial medal.

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

fell in the subsequent All-Ireland quarter-final, setting up a semi-final meeting with

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. With seconds left in the game Barr's side were up by one point, but a last-gasp goal gave Kilkenny a 2-18 to 1-19 victory. Antrim lost their provincial crown in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, but Barr collected a fourth Ulster title in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. Antrim later defeated

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final setting up a semi-final meeting with Kilkenny once again. However, Antrim were not the force they were and they lost the game by 4-18 to 1-9. Barr added a fifth Ulster title to his collection in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

following a defeat of Down in the sixth successive meeting between these two sides in the final. Unfortunately, Antrim were later trounced by

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final. Barr retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.

Provincial

Barr also lined out with

in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He played in a number of finals, though he never won a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medal.

References

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications, 2005).

External links

Antrim GAA honours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Ciaran 1964 births Living people O'Donovan Rossa (Antrim) hurlers St Vincents (Dublin) hurlers Antrim inter-county hurlers Ulster inter-provincial hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen