James Buttimer (1909 – 7 August 1962) was an Irish hurler and selector. At club level he played with St Finbarr's and played at senior level for the Cork county team. Buttimer usually lined out as a goalkeeper.

Playing career

Club

Born in

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 * ...

, Buttimer first played

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 ...

at juvenile and underage levels with St Finbarr's. He joined the club's senior team as first-choice goalkeeper in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

. Within three years of joining the team, Buttimer had secured two Cork SHC medals as St Finbarr's beat

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 ...

in consecutive finals in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

before losing to

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They have been historically part of the ''Big Three'' of Cork hurl ...

in the 1934 final. After almost a decade without a St Finbarr's appearance in a final, he won a third winners' medal after a defeat of

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at which time the ...

in the 1942 final.

Inter-county

Buttimer's performances at club level with St Finbarr's resulted in a call-up to the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

. He was sub-goalkeeper for Cork's unsuccessful 1933 Munster SHC campaign before breaking onto the starting fifteen as first-choice goalkeeper for the 1935 Munster SHC first round defeat of Tipperary. Buttimer was dropped from the team for Cork's next championship game and remained off the panel until a recall in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. He claimed his first silverware when Cork 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 1939 Munster final, however, Cork's season ended with a defeat by

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 ...

in the 1939 All-Ireland final. Buttimer claimed his first national silverware when Cork secured consecutive

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

titles in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

and

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

. At the end of the latter season he won his first

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 after lining out in goal in the defeat of

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 ...

in the 1941 All-Ireland final. Buttimer was dropped as first-choice goalkeeper in favour of Ned Porter in 1942, however, he did come on as a substitute in Cork's opening round defeat of Limerick. He was once again introduced as a substitute for Porter in the defeat of Dublin in the 1942 All-Ireland final.

Management career

In retirement from playing, Buttimer remained heavily involved in a coaching role with the St Finbarr's club. He was one of two St Finbarr's nominees to the selection committee of the Cork senior hurling team in January 1947. Buttimer's season with the team yielded a fifth Munster Championship title in six seasons; however, Cork's season ended with a one-point defeat by Kilkenny in the 1947 All-Ireland final.

Death

Buttimer died at St. Finbarr's Hospital in

on 7 August 1962, aged 53.

Honours

;St Finbarr's *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

;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 ...

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 ...

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

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 ...

: 1939-40, 1940-41

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttimer, Jim 1909 births 1962 deaths St Finbarr's hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling coaches Hurling goalkeepers Hurling selectors All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners 20th-century Irish sportsmen