Kieran Purcell
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Kieran Purcell (born 5 August 1945) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He 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 ...
with his local club Windgap and was a member of the
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 ...
senior inter-county team from 1971 until 1977.


Playing career


Club

Purcell played his club
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 ...
with his local Windgap club. He enjoyed some success but he never won a senior county title.


Inter-county

Purcell first came to prominence as a member of the
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 ...
minor hurling team in the early 1960s. He found it difficult to nail down a place on the team, however, he did enjoy some Leinster and All-Ireland successes as a substitute. Purcell later joined the Kilkenny under-21 team, however, it was
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 ...
who dominated the early years of the provincial championship. In 1971, Purcell won his first
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 ...
title, however, in spite of an outstanding display by
Eddie Keher Edward Peter Keher (; born 14 October 1941) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. Born in Inistioge, County Kilkenny, Keher first played competitive hurling whilst at school in ...
, Kilkenny lost to Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. In 1972, Purcell won a second Leinster title before helping Kilkenny to defeat
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 * ...
in the subsequent final to win 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. 1973 saw Purcell win another Leinster medal, however, Kilkenny were defeated by
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 All-Ireland final. Purcell missed that game because of appendicitis, however, he was introduced as a substitute. The Kilkenny team quickly regrouped to win back-to-back Leinster and All-Ireland titles in 1974 and 1975, with Purcell winning back-to-back All-Star awards also.


References


Teams

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Kieran 1945 births Living people Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Windgap hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen