Michael Donal McCarthy (4 June 1908 – 31 January 1980) was an Irish academic, public servant, university administrator, hurler and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who played as a right wing-back for the Cork senior teams. Born in

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, McCarthy first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Rockwell College. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty when he first linked up with the Cork senior football team. He joined the senior panel during the 1928 championship. McCarthy later became a regular member of the hurling team as well, and won one

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 ...

medal. At club level McCarthy was a two-time

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

medallist with

Collegians Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong, New South Wales, Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. Originally known as CBC Old Boys, the c ...

. He also played with

Carrigtwohill Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill (), is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of 5,568 (2022). It is 12 kilometres east of Cork city centre. It is connected to Cork Suburban Rail and is bypassed by the N25 road. Carrigtwoh ...

Throughout his career McCarthy made one championship appearances. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1929 championship.

Early life and education

Born in

in 1908, McCarthy was educated at

Midleton CBS Secondary School Midleton CBS Secondary School is a Catholic secondary school for boys, located in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. Midleton CBS was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1867. History The Christian Brothers arrived in Midleton in ...

before later attending Rockwell College. He was later awarded a first class honours degrees in

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(mathematics and mathematical physics) at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

in 1928 and an MSc (Mathematical Science) in 1934. He was awarded a PhD in Statistics in 1938.

Playing career

Colleges

During his schooling at Rockwell College, McCarthy established himself as a key member of the senior hurling team. In 1924 he won a Harty Cup medal following a 7-3 to 3-4 defeat of Limerick CBS.

University

While studying for a Maths degree at

, McCarthy was an automatic inclusion for the

hurling and football teams. In 1928 he was a key member of both senior teams. A huge 10-5 to 2-0 defeat of arch rivals

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

secured a Fitzgibbon Cup medal, while the same opposition were accounted for by 3-3 to 1-5 to take the

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

title. The following year McCarthy won a second Fitzgibbon Cup medal following a narrow 8-1 to 7-2 defeat of UCD once again.

Club

McCarthy first enjoyed success in the club championship as a member of the University College Cork senior football team. In 1927 he won his first

medal as UCC defeated

Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...

by 3-3 to 1-0. University College Cork retained their title in 1928. A 1-6 to 0-2 defeat of Duhallow United gave McCarthy a second and final championship medal.

Inter-county

McCarthy first played for Cork as a member of the senior football team. He joined the senior panel in 1928 and won a

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 ...

medal as a non-playing substitute following a 4-3 to 0-4 defeat of Tipperary. In 1929 McCarthy was drafted onto the Cork senior hurling panel. He collected a

medal as a non-playing substitute as Cork made it four-in-a-row following a 4-6 to 2-3 defeat of

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 ...

. On 1 September 1929 Cork faced

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 ...

in the All-Ireland final for the second successive year. Little had changed in a year as Cork were on the top of their game again. A rout ensued as "the Rebels" and McCarthy, who came on as a substitute, claimed an

medal.

Academic career

McCarthy joined the Statistics Branch of the Department of Industry and Commerce in 1930. In 1931 he joined University College Cork as a lecturer in mathematics and was appointed to the Chair of Mathematical Physics in 1944. He joined the newly established Central Statistics Office as Deputy Director in 1949 and became Director in 1957. McCarthy was chairperson of the UN Statistical Commission (a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council) from 1960 to 1964. In 1966 he was appointed Director of the Economic and Social Research Institute. McCarthy was appointed President of University College Cork in 1967 and retired on his 70th birthday in 1978.

Personal life

McCarthy was married to Margaret "Pearl" Mulhall and together they had four children: Fionnghuala, Donagh, Brian and Kevin. McCarthy died on 30 January 1980.

Honours

Player

;Rockwell College * Dr. Harty Cup (1): 1924 ;University College Cork * Cork Senior Football Championship (2): 1927, 1928 *

(1): 1928 * Fitzgibbon Cup (2): 1928, 1929 ;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

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

(1):

(sub) *

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

(1):

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

(sub)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Donal 1908 births 1980 deaths UCC hurlers UCC Gaelic footballers Carrigtwohill hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Academics of University College Cork Presidents of University College Cork 20th-century Irish sportsmen