Finbarr Gantley (1 September 1950 – 16 July 2021) was an Irish hurler who played for a number of club sides, including St. Gabriel's and Beagh. He also lined out at inter-county level with the Warwickshire,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Galway senior hurling teams.

Career

Born near

Shanaglish Shanaglish is a village in the parish of Beagh in the south of County Galway, Ireland, close to the border with County Clare. The name Shanaglish comes from the Gaelic 'Sean Eaglais', meaning 'old church'. The village was formerly in the paris ...

on the

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

border, Gantley had an uncle,

Paddy Gantley Fr. Paddy Gantly (1919–2002) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a nu ...

, who had played with the Galway senior hurling team in the 1940s and is regarded as one of their greatest ever players. After emigrating to the UK at the age of 16, Gantley won

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...

titles with the Brothers Pearse and St. Gabriel's clubs. He also lined out with Warwickshire and

, losing five All-Ireland finals across the junior, intermediate and senior B grades. After returning to Ireland Gantley joined the Beagh club and was drafted onto the Galway senior team. He lined out in three successive All-Ireland finals, coming on as a substitute for Galway's 1980 All-Ireland final defeat of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Personal life and death

Gantley's sons Finbarr Jnr and

Rory Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", ...

also hurled for the Galway senior team in the 1990s and 2000s. He died in Tubber,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

on 16 July 2021.

Honours

;Brothers Pearse *

London Senior Hurling Championship The London Senior Hurling Championship is a Gaelic Athletic Association cup competition between the top hurling clubs in London, England. Top winners Roll of honour References {{Gaelic games in Great Britain Hurling competitions in th ...

: 1968, 1972 ;St Gabriel's *

: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 ;Beagh *

Galway Intermediate Hurling Championship The Galway Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Galmont Hotel Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Galway IHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the G ...

: 1980 ;Galway *

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

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gantley, Finbarr 1950 births 2021 deaths Beagh hurlers London inter-county hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners