Denis Scannell was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

and was a member of the

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 * ...

senior inter-county team from 1891 until 1893.

Playing career

Club

Scannell played his club hurling with the famous

club and enjoyed much success throughout the first decade of club activity in Cork. Over the course of twelve championship seasons Blackrock qualified for nine county finals, with victory coming on eight occasions. Scannell was a key member of the team for all of these successes, beginning in 1887 when he captured his first county senior championship title. A second county title quickly followed in 1889. Blackrock were unlucky not to capture a five-in-a-row in the 1890s, however, defeat in 1892 broke the chain. In spite of this Scannell added to his medals tally with victories in 1891, 1893, 1894 and 1895. He finished off his career with Blackrock by winning a two-in-a-row in 1897 and 1898.

Inter-county

Scannell first came to prominence on the inter-county scene with

when he captained the team in 1891. It was an unsuccessful year as Cork were defeated by eventual champions Kerry in their opening game. Scannell was on the team again in 1892 and he lined out in his first provincial decider with Kerry providing the opposition. An exciting game developed, however, at full-time Cork were the champions by 5–3 to 2–5. It was Scannell's first

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

title. Cork's next game was an All-Ireland final meeting with

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The game was a controversial one as referee Dan Fraher changed his mind after initially awarding a goal to Cork. He eventually decided that the

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's Central Council should decide the matter. Dublin, however, had walked off the field and, because of this, Cork were awarded the title. It gave Scannell 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 ...

title. Scannell was a member of the Cork hurling team again in 1893. That year he added a second Munster title to his collection following a 5–3 to 0–0 defeat of

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 ...

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 ...

provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Cork won the game on probably the most unsuitable playing field in hurling history. After someone had neglected to get the grass cut at Ashtown, both teams moved to the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

where the game took place. A 6–8 to 0–2 victory gave Scannell a second consecutive All-Ireland title.

Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). * Cronin, Jim, ''A Rebel Hundred: Cork's 100 All-Ireland Titles''. * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scannell, Denis Blackrock National Hurling Club hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Year of death missing Year of birth missing