Gary Maguire (born 26 June 1983) is an Irish former hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the senior Dublin county team. Maguire made his first appearance for the team during the 2004 National League and has been Dublin's first-choice goalkeeper since then. Since then he has won one

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 ...

medal and one

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

award. Maguire has been a runner-up in two

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 ...

finals. At club level Maguire plays with Ballyboden St Enda's and has won five consecutive county club championship medals.

Playing career

Club

Maguire began his senior club career as a

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 ...

with Ballyboden St Enda's; however, he gave up on

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 ...

to concentrate on his hurling career. After facing some one-point defeats in a number of championship deciders, Ballyboden St Enda's reached the county final once again in 2007. A 2-13 to 1-5 trouncing of St Vincent's gave Ballyboden their first ever championship. It was a first

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 ...

medal for Maguire. Ballyboden St Enda's went on to dominate club hurling in Dublin for the rest of the decade. Subsequent county final defeats of

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes () is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a public meeting in Saint Laurence's Hall, where Stillorgan shopping centre no ...

, Craobh Chiaráin, St Vincent's again and O'Toole's gave Ballyboden a record-equaling five championship titles in-a-row. Maguire played a key role in goal in all of these victories, including being named Dublin Hurler of the Year in 2010.

Inter-county

Maguire first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as goalkeeper on the

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 ...

minor hurling team in 2000. He spent two seasons with the minors and enjoyed little success, having ended up on the losing side to

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 2000 Leinster final. After later joining the Dublin under-21 team, Maguire featured when the team lost back-to-back provincial deciders in 2002 and 2003. Maguire was still a member of the Dublin under-21 team when he made his senior debut in a

game against

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 made his championship debut later that same year in a Leinster quarter-final against

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. His first few championship seasons saw Dublin face some narrow losses in the provincial series of games, however, in 2009 Maguire's side qualified for a first Leinster final in eighteen years. A 2-18 to 0-18 score line gave victory to Kilkenny. After a disappointing championship in 2010, 'the Dubs' qualified for the National League final in 2011, their first decider in over seventy years. A 0-22 to 1-7 defeat of Kilkenny gave Maguire a National League winners' medal. Both sides met again in the Leinster final that day, however, the result was reversed. A 4-17 to 1-15 score line gave victory to 'the Cats'. In spite of this defeat Dublin remained in the championship and reached an All-Ireland semi-final against reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary. Maguire's side gave Tipp an almighty scare, however, the champions narrowly won by 1-19 to 0-18. Maguire finished off the season by winning his very first

award. Maguire retired from the inter-county scene after the 2018 season along with club mate

Shane Durkin Shane Durkin (born 1 July 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays for Dublin Senior Championship club Ballyboden St Enda's. He usually plays as a wing-back, but can also be deployed at midfield. Durkin was a member of the Dublin senior hurling tea ...

, Maguire bowed out having represented

for 15 seasons.

Inter-provincial

Maguire has also been picked for the

inter-provincial hurling team for the

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

competition.

Honours

* 6

Dublin Senior Hurling Championship The Dublin Senior Hurling Championship () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) since 1887 for the top hurling clubs in County Dublin, Ireland. Sixteen clubs compete. In ...

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 * 1

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 ...

2013 * 1 All-Star 2011 * 1 National Hurling League Division 1 2011 * 1 National Hurling League Division 1B 2013 * 1 National Hurling League Division 2 2006 * 1 Railway Cup 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Gary 1983 births Living people Ballyboden St Enda's Gaelic footballers Ballyboden St Enda's hurlers Dual players Dublin inter-county hurlers Hurling goalkeepers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen