Garry Laffan (born 1975) is an Irish politician,

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 ...

coach and former

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

. At club level he played with Glynn–Barntown and was also a member of the Wexford senior hurling team. Laffan is also an elected representative with

Wexford County Council Wexford County Council () is the local authority of County Wexford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning an ...

Playing career

Laffan first played for the Glynn–Barntown club in the juvenile and underage grades as a

. He won Wexford U21HC and U21FC titles in 1993 and 1994, by which stage he had progressed to adult level. Laffan won a Wexford SFC medal in 1996, following Glynn–Barntown's 2-03 to 0-07 defeat of Kilanerin in the final. Laffan first appeared on the inter-county scene with

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

as a member of the under-21 team. He won a Leinster U21HC medal before facing defeat by

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 1996 All-Ireland under-21 final. Laffan made his senior team debut in the Oireachtas Tournament in 1994. He won a Leinster SHC medal in 1996, before playing at full-forward when Wexford beat

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 1996 All-Ireland final. A second Leinster SHC medal followed for Laffan in 1997, when Wexford retained the title after a 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 ...

. He retired from inter-county hurling in 2002.

Coaching career

Laffan became part of Tony Dempsey's Wexford under-21 hurling management team in 2010. His three seasons with the team saw Wexford lose consecutive provincial finals to

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 ...

before suffering a heaby defeat to Kilkenny. At club level, Laffan spent a number of seasons as manager of Glenealy. He guided the team to back-to-back Wicklow SHC titles in 2017 and 2018. Laffan later took charge of the Tara Rocks club and managed them to the Wexford IAHC title in 2021.

Political career

Laffan was elected to

as a

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

candidate in the 2019 local elections. He was elected mayor of Wexford in June 2021.

Honours

Player

;Glynn–Barntown *

Wexford Senior Football Championship The Wexford Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1886. The 2024 champions are Castlet ...

: 1996 ;Wexford *

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 ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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 ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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

Management

;Glenealy *

Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship The Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Lightning Protection Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Wicklow SHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Wicklow County Bo ...

: 2017, 2018 ;Tara Rocks * Wexford Intermediate A Hurling Championship: 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laffan, Garry 1975 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Dual players Fianna Fáil local councillors Glynn-Barntown hurlers Glynn-Barntown Gaelic footballers Hurling coaches Hurling managers Irish sportsperson-politicians Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Members of Wexford County Council Wexford inter-county hurlers Wexford inter-county Gaelic footballers