Leonard Enright (1 July 1953 – 2 November 2018) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for club side

Patrickswell Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick (), is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. It is primarily a commuter village for people working in Limerick, including the nearby industrial suburb of Raheen. The population was 848 at th ...

, at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team and at inter-provincial level with

Munster 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 ...

Playing career

Patrickswell

Enright first played for

at under-16 level on a team trained by

Richie Bennis Richard "Richie" Bennis (born 1945) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Limerick senior team. Born in Patrickswell, County Limerick, Bennis first played competitive hurling during his schooling at CBS Sexton Stree ...

. He subsequently progressed onto the club's minor and under-21 teams before eventually making his breakthrough at senior level. On 23 September 1979, Enright was at right wing-back when he won his first

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

medal after a 2-16 to 0-16 defeat of

Tournafulla Tournafulla, or Toornafulla (), is a village in the southwest of County Limerick, Ireland. Tournafulla is a long single-street village. It has a Catholic church, a primary school, three pubs, a community hall and a GAA pitch. As of the 2022 ce ...

in the final. After surrendering their title and failing to make the final stage over the following two seasons, Patrickswell qualified for the final once again on 12 September 1982. Enright was at full-back for that game and won a second County Championship medal after a 0-17 to 0-15 defeat of

Bruree Bruree () is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was ''Dún Eochair ...

in the final. Enright was appointed captain of the Patrickswell senior hurling team for the 1983 season. On 11 September 1983, he won a third County Championship medal when he captained the team to a 1-13 to 1-07 defeat of Ballybrown in the final. Patrickswell secured a third successive County Championship title on 14 October 1984, with Enright winning his fourth championship title overall after a 4-13 to 3-05 defeat of

Cappamore Cappamore () is a small town in northeast County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Location and facilities Cappamore is 20 km east of Limerick city, on the bank ...

in the final. On 13 September 1987, Enright won a fifth County Championship medal following Patrickswell's 1-17 to 3-10 defeat of Ballybrown in the final. Patrickswell retained the championship on 16 October 1988 following a 4-10 to 2-06 defeat of Cappamore in a final replay. It was Enright's sixth championship winners' medal. He ended the year by winning a Munster Club Championship medal after Patrickswell's 3-13 to 2-13 defeat of Mount Sion. Enright won his seventh and final County Championship medal on 21 October 1990 after a 1-15 to 1-12 defeat of

Adare Adare (; ) is a village in County Limerick, Ireland, located southwest of the city of Limerick. Adare is designated as a heritage town by the Irish government. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. History The River M ...

. He later claimed a second Munster Club Championship medal following an 0-08 to 0-06 defeat of Éire Óg. On 17 March 1991, Patrickswell lined out against Glenmore in the All-Ireland final. Enright scored a point from play, however, Patrickswell suffered a 1-13 to 0-12 defeat.

Limerick

Minor and under-21

Enright first played for Limerick when he was selected in goal for the minor team. He enjoyed little success in this grade before progressing onto the Limerick under-21 team in 1972. His three-year tenure in this grade also ended without championship success.

Senior

Enright made his first appearance for the Limerick senior hurling team when he lined out in goal on 7 March 1971 in a 1-17 to 2-07 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 ...

in the

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 ...

. He ended the campaign by winning his first league medal as a substitute. Enright was dropped from the Limerick team at the end of 1972 and missed out on the team's All-Ireland Championship success in 1973. After a three-year gap, Enright returned to the Limerick panel and made his Munster Championship debut at midfield in a 2-16 to 3-13 draw with Tipperary on 6 July 1975. After two seasons at midfield he became disillusioned and left the panel. Enright gave up hurling altogether, switched codes to

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and played with

Young Munster Young Munster is a rugby union club based in Limerick, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded in 1895 and plays its games at Tom Clifford Park in Rosbrien, Limerick. The club has won the Munster Senior Rugb ...

in 1977 and 1978. A career-ending eye injury to

Pat Hartigan Pat Hartigan (born 1950) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club South Liberties and at senior level for the Limerick county team in the 1970s. He is regarded as one of Limerick's greatest-ever players. Early and private l ...

in 1979 paved the way for Enright's return to the Limerick senior team. He initially played in his usual position at midfield before later becoming the first-choice full-back in succession to the injured Hartigan. On 20 July 1980, Enright won his first Munster Championship medal after a 2-14 to 2-10 defeat of reigning champions

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 final. This victory secured Limerick a place in the All-Ireland final against

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 ...

on 7 September 1980. Enright played at full-back, however, in spite of a personal scoring tally of 2-07 for

Éamonn Cregan Éamonn Cregan (born 21 May 1945) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, hurler and manager. He is best remembered for his success with Limerick, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager of various club and inter-county teams in the 1980s an ...

, Limerick suffered a 2-15 to 3-09 defeat. Enright ended the season by winning his first All Star award. Enright won a second successive Munster Championship medal on 5 July 1981 after a 3-12 to 2-09 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 final. He ended the season with a second successive All Star award. Enright was appointed captain of the Limerick senior team for the 1983 season. After losing the National League final to

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 ...

, Limerick's season came to an end with a Munster semi-final replay defeat by Cork. In spite of a trophy-less season, Enright ended the year by winning a third All Star award in four seasons. After retaining the captaincy for the 1984 season, Enright guided the Limerick team to a second successive league final appearance. A 3-16 to 1-09 defeat of Wexford gave Enright a second National League medal and a first won on the field of play. On 14 April 1985, Enright won a third National League medal following Limerick's 3-12 to 1-07 defeat of Clare in the final. It was his second successive title as captain of the team. Enright played his last championship game for Limerick on 5 June 1988, when he captained the team to a 0-16 to 0-08 defeat by Tipperary.

Munster

Enright was first selected at full-back for the

team in 1981. He retained his position on the team for five successive seasons and won three

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 ...

medals during that time after defeats of

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 ...

in 1981 and 1984 and

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 ...

in 1985.

Personal life

Outside of his sporting life Enright worked as a caretaker with

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

. He was married to Birdie and had three sons and a daughter. Enright died at the Milford Care Centre on 2 November 2018, just hours after his induction into the

GAA Hall of Fame The GAA Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for Gaelic games in Ireland. The hall opened in the Cusack Stand, Croke Park, Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the ...

was celebrated at the annual All Star Awards.

Honours

;Patrickswell *

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 ...

(2):

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Limerick Senior Hurling Championship The Limerick Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bon Secours Hospital County Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Limerick SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Limerick County Board ...

(7):

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 ...

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. ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

(c),

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

;Limerick *

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 ...

(2):

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

(3): 1970-71, 1983-84 (c), 1984-85 (c) ;Munster *

(3): 1981, 1984, 1985 ;Individual *

Inductee: 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Leonard 1953 births 2018 deaths Patrickswell hurlers Patrickswell Gaelic footballers Limerick inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling goalkeepers Hurling backs Young Munster players 20th-century Irish sportsmen