David Collins (born 17 March 1984) is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right corner-back for the

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

senior team. He joined the team in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and has been a regular member until 2016. An

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medalist in the under-21 grade, Collins has been a stalwart on the Galway team for almost a decade. He has won one

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

winners' medal, two

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

winners' medals and one Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year award. He ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions. At club level Collins plays with the

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

club in Galway. Won a senior league with Liam Mellows in 2016 as a centre back.

Early life and education

Collins attended

St. Joseph's Patrician College St. Joseph's Patrician College, often known as "The Bish", is a secondary school in the West Region, Ireland, West Ireland city of Galway. Founded by the Patrician Brothers, a religious order, it has approximately 800 students on roll and, in ...

Playing career

Club

Collins plays his club

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

Liam Mellows GAA Liam Mellows GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Renmore, a suburb of Galway City, Ireland. The club is primarily concerned with the game of hurling and camogie. The club is named after IRB member Liam Mellows. On 12 November ...

club in Galway. He has had some success at underage level, however, the club hadn't won a senior county club championship title since 1970 until Sunday 3 December 2017.

Inter-county

Collins first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Galway minor hurling team. He enjoyed little success in this grade but later played with the under-21 county side. He won an All-Ireland medal with the Galway under-21 team in 2005 following a 1–15 to 1–14 defeat of

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 ...

. By this stage Collins was a regular on the Galway senior team. He won a National League winners medal in 2004 as Galway defeated

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

by 2–15 to 1–13. Later that year he made his championship debut at centre-back against Down. In 2005 Galway defeated both Tipperary and Kilkenny in the All-Ireland series to qualify for an All-Ireland final showdown with

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 * ...

. It was the first meeting of Cork and Galway in an All-Ireland final since 1990. Men from the west had never beaten Cork in a championship decider. Neither side broke away into a considerable lead, however, at the final whistle, Cork was ahead by 1–21 to 1–16. In spite of this defeat, Collins ended the year as the Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year. In 2007 Collins was appointed Galway captain. After a number of disappointing seasons, Collins won a second National League medal in 2010 following a 2–22 to 1–17 defeat of Cork. In 2012, Galway shocked reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny and won a historic

title by 2–21 to 2–11. It was Collins' first provincial winners' medal in any grade. He was dropped from Galway panel in 2016.

Honours

Team

;Galway *

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

(1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(2):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

(1): 2005 * Connacht Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2005 ;Connacht * Interprovincial Hurling Championship (1): 2004 Club: Galway Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2017

Individual

* Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year (1): 2005 * All-Star (1): 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, David 1984 births Living people Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Liam Mellows hurlers People educated at St Joseph's Patrician College Sportspeople from Galway (city) 21st-century Irish sportsmen GAA/GPA Young Hurlers of the Year