James Leonard Gaynor (born 1944) is an Irish former hurler who played as a left wing-back at senior level for the Tipperary county team.

Early life

Born and raised in Kilruane,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, James (More commonly known as Len)first played as a schoolboy in various juvenile competitions at Kilruane National School before later lining out as a student at St Flannan's College in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. He lined out in the Harty Cup but success eluded him in that competition. Gaynor

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed St Flannan's to the Dean Ryan Cup title in 1961 after a 6–07 to 1–03 defeat of De La Salle College Waterford in the final.

Club career

Gaynor played his first juvenile game for the Kilruane MacDonaghs club as an 11-year-old in 1955. He enjoyed his first major success in 1959 when he captained Kilruane to the Tipperary U15HC title after a defeat of a

Babs Keating Michael "Babs" Keating (born 17 April 1944) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a forward for the Tipperary senior teams. Born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Keating first played competitive Gaelic games during his ...

-inspired Ballybacon-Grange in the final. Gaynor made his first appearance for the Kilruane MacDonaghs senior team in a tournament game against

Thurles Sarsfields Thurles Sarsfields is a Tipperary GAA club which is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Both hurling and Gaelic football are played in the "Mid-Tipperary" divisional competitions. The club is centred in the town of Thurles at Semple Stadium. T ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Sunday 1962. Gaynor claimed his first senior silverware in 1965 when Kilruane beat

Lorrha Lorrha (from ) is a small village at the northern tip of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Ledewich described village as 'Larah' which is the common name for the talk-motes, mote hills etc. P. Dixon Hardy M.R.I.A. describes it as 'L ...

to win the North Tipperary SHC, however, success at county level had eluded the club. By

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 ...

he had contemplated retirement from the club's senior team, however, he remained on as

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. It was a successful decision as Kilruane won three successive Tipperary SHC titles from 1977 to

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

after defeats of Borris-Ileigh,

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2022 it had a population of 5,542. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea, p ...

and

. After stepping away from the Kilruane MacDonaghs senior team, Gaynor continued to line out with the club's junior team. He won a Tipperary JAHC title in 1985 after a 17-point defeat of Cappawhite in the final. Gaynor brought his 34-year playing career to an end when he lined out in goal in a North Tipperary JBHC game against

Moneygall Moneygall () is a village in County Offaly, bordering County Tipperary, in Ireland. It is situated on the R445 road between Dublin and Limerick. There were 374 people living in the village as of the 2022 census. Moneygall has a Catholic church ...

in 1989.

Inter-county

Performances at colleges and club level earned Gaynor a call-up to the Tipperary minor hurling team in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. He won a Munster MHC title that year after lining out at centre-forward in the 10-point defeat of

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 * ...

, however, Tipperary were beaten 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 1962 All-Ireland minor final. After a year out of inter-county activity, Gaynor was selected for the inaugural Tipperary under-21 hurling team in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. Tipperary dominated that year's championship, winning all of their matches by an average of 23 points. Gaynor added a Munstr U21HC to his provincial collection after a defeat of Cork before lining out at left wing-back in the 1964 All-Ireland under-21 final defeat of

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 ...

. He claimed a second successive provincial winners' medal the following year, however, Wexford reversed the previous year's result by beating Tipperary by 3–07 to 1–04 in the 1964 All-Ireland under-21 final. By that stage Gaynor had already joined the senior team. He was an unused substitute throughout the

campaign and, after collecting a Munster SHC medal, ended the season by being listed as one of the substitutes for the 1964 All-Ireland final defeat of

. Gaynor later made his debut in the

Oireachtas Tournament The Oireachtas Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1939 and 1999 for the top inter-county teams in Ireland. The series of games were usually played in the autumn months after the completion ...

. Gaynor was a regular member of the starting fifteen throughout the 1964-65 league and championship campaigns. He won a second successive Munster SHC medal – his first on the field of play – after an 18-point win over Cork in the

Munster final Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. Gaynor collected a second successive All-Ireland winners' medal following the 2–16 to 0–10 defeat of

in the 1965 All-Ireland final. He ended the season by claiming a first

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 ...

title after a defeat of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. After an unsuccessful season in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, Gaynor won a third Munster winners' medal after a defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

in the 1967 Munster final. He was named in his customary left wing-back position for the 3–08 to 2–07 defeat by Kilkenny in the 1967 All-Ireland final. In spite of this defeat, Gaynor was named Tipperary Hurler of the Year and was also selected on the Gaelic Weekly Team of the Year. Gaynor won a second National League title after a defeat of New York at the end of the 1967–68 league season. He later won a fourth Munster title in five years after a 2–13 to 1–07 win over Cork in the 1968 Munster final. The 1968 All-Ireland final was the fourth Tipperary-Wexford final of the decade and, in spite of his side holding an eight-point half-time lead, Gaynor ended up on the losing side for the second successive year. After two seasons without success, Gaynor won his fifth and final provincial winners' medal in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

after a one-point 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. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Tipperary win with a goal to spare over Kilkenny, with Gaynor quoted in the ''

Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' ( Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 ...

'' as saying: "It was the best match in which I have played and I am tremendously proud to win my third All-Ireland medal."

Managerial career

In the early 1990s Gaynor served as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the Clare senior hurling team. He had some success by steering the county to two consecutive Munster final appearances in 1993 and 1994, however, these games ended in huge defeats for Clare. He was replaced in 1995 by

Ger Loughnane Gerard "Ger" Loughnane (born 27 January 1953) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Clare senior team. Born in Feakle, County Clare, Loughnane first played competitive hurling whilst at school in St. Flannan's ...

. In 1997 Gaynor became manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team. Once again his tenure in charge was mixed, as Tipp were defeated in both the Munster and All-Ireland finals in the first year of the "back-door" system.

Honours

Player

;St Flannan's College *Dean Ryan Cup: 1961 (c) ;Kilruane MacDonaghs *

Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship The Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the FBD Insurance Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary GAA, Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Ath ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

* North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship: 1965, 1977, 1978, 1979 *

Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship The Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship is an annual championship of hurling for male players in the junior grade and is organised by the Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The championship has been awarded alm ...

: 1985 *North Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship: 1985 ;Tipperary *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

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 ...

: 1964–65, 1967–68 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

;Munster *

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 ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

Management

;Kilruane MacDonaghs *

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

* North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987 *Tipperary Under-21 A Hurling Championship: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 *North Tipperary Under-21 A Hurling Championship: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978 *Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship: 1972 *North Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship: 1971, 1972 ;Moycarkey-Borris *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* Mid Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship: 1982 ;Shannon Rovers *

Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship The Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1979 for the third-tier hurling teams in the county of Tipperary in Ireland. Th ...

: 1986 *North Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship: 1985, 1986 ;Newport *

: 1989 *North Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship: 1989 ;Clonoulty-Rossmore *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

West Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship The West Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Tipperary Co-Op West Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the West Tipperary Board of the Gaelic Athletic Assoc ...

: 1989 ;Tipperary *Ford Cup: 1985 *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaynor, Len 1944 births Living people Tipperary inter-county hurlers Kilruane MacDonaghs hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling managers 20th-century Irish farmers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners People from Cloughjordan 20th-century Irish sportsmen