John "Junior" Mahony (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1973) was an Irish hurler. Usually lining out as a goalkeeper, he was a member of the

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 ...

team that won the 1923 All-Ireland Championship.

Playing career

Mahony enjoyed a club career with

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall cont ...

that spanned three decades, however, he enjoyed little in terms of championship success. He is regarded as one of the club's greatest-ever players and was included on a special Team of the Millennium. After being selected for the Galway senior team in 1919, he held his position on the team for the next decade. He won a

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

medal in 1922 before winning his sole

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 in 1923 after Galway's defeat of

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 final. Mahony was a runner-up in four subsequent All-Ireland finals and retired from inter-county hurling in 1929. As one of the top goalkeepers of his era, Mahony was included on the Ireland team at the

Tailteann Games Tailteann Games or Aonach Tailteann may refer to: * Tailteann Games (ancient) sporting and religious festival in Gaelic Ireland * Tailteann Games (Irish Free State) The Tailteann Games or Aonach Tailteann was an Irish sporting and cultural festi ...

in 1924, for which he was awarded a gold medal.

Personal life

Mahony was also a member of the Old IRA and was interned at

Ballykinlar Ballykinler (), often transcribed as Ballykinlar, is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 12 kilometres south west of Downpatrick, in the parish of Tyrella and Dundrum. In the 2001 census it had a population of 34 ...

and other camps during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. He died after a short illness on 8 May 1973.

Honours

;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, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht GAA, Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inte ...

(1):

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahony, Junior 1897 births 1973 deaths Ardrahan hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Hurling goalkeepers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners