John Kevin Coleman (born 1944) is an Irish former hurler and politician. At club level he played with

Ballinhassig Ballinhassig () is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated south of Cork City just off the N71 Bandon road and near the source of the River Owenabue (''Abhainn Bui'', meaning "Yellow River"). Traditionally an agricultural area, Ballinha ...

, divisional side Carrigdhoun and was also a member of 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 ...

. Coleman also spent some time as an elected representative with

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

Playing career

Coleman 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 the

club while also lining out with St. Finbarr's College in the Harty Cup. He progressed to adult club level, alongside his six brothers, and enjoyed a hugely successful career, winning five Carrigdhoun JFC titles, two Cork JHC titles and two Cork IHC titles. Coleman also lined out with divisional side Carrigdhoun. Coleman first appeared on the inter-county scene with

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 * ...

as a member of the minor team in 1962. He later spent one season with the under-21 team. Coleman was a member of the intermediate team that won the All-Ireland IHC title in 1965. He was drafted onto the senior team that same year and made a number of appearances in the

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 ...

over subsequent seasons. Coleman made his only championship appearance when he came on as a substitute in Cork's defeat by Tipperary in the 1968 Munster final.

Political career

Coleman 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 1985 local elections. He later left the party, joined the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...

and was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1989 general election in the Cork South Central constituency. Coleman lost his council seat at the 1991 local elections.

Honours

St Finbarrs College * All-ireland Colleges Senior Hurling Championship: (1) 1963 * Munster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship: (1) 1963 ;Ballinhassig *

Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

Cork Junior Hurling Championship The Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork GAA, Cork County Board of ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

South East Junior A Hurling Championship The South East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Carrigdhoun Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for junior hurling teams in the southeastern region of County Cork, Ireland. T ...

: 1964, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1973 ;Cork *

All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Intermediate All-Ireland Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Effectively contested by the second ...

Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship The Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between 1961 and 2017. Teams consisted of senior, intermediate and junior club ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, John Kevin 1944 births Living people Ballinhassig hurlers Carrigdhoun hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Irish sportsperson-politicians Members of Cork County Council 20th-century Irish sportsmen