Martin Kavanagh (born 15 September 1994) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with

St Mullin's St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Saint Moling, Moling')St Mullin's

and at inter-county level with the Carlow senior hurling team. Kavanagh is Carlow's all-time top scorer.

Early life

Born and raised in the

St Mullin's St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Saint Moling, Moling')St Mullin's

are of

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

, Kavanagh first played hurling as a schoolboy with Borris Vocational School in various competitions. He later lined out with

Institute of Technology, Carlow The Institute of Technology, Carlow (IT Carlow; ) was an institute of technology, located in Carlow, Ireland. The institute had campuses in Carlow, Wexford, and Wicklow, as well as a part-time provision elsewhere in Ireland. Along with the Wate ...

and won an All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling League title after a defeat of

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

in 2013. Kavanagh returned to IT Carlow almost a decade later and was their top scorer in the

2022 Fitzgibbon Cup The 2022 Fitzgibbon Cup was the 105th staging of the Fitzgibbon Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1912. It is sponsored by Electric Ireland, and known as the Electric Ireland HE GAA Fitzgibbon Cup for sponsorship ...

Club career

Kavanagh began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the

St Mullin's St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Saint Moling, Moling')St Mullin's

club. He had a number of successes, beginning with a Carlow U16HC title before later claiming a Carlow MHC title after scoring 1-08 against Naomh Eoin in the 2011 minor final. Kavanagh ended his underage career by winning a Carlow U21HC title in 2014. By that stage Kavanagh had already joined the club's senior team and was top scorer when St Mullin's were beaten by Mount Leinster Rangers in the 2013 final. He continued to be the club's scorer-in-chief as St Mullin's won three consecutive Carlow SHC titles after defeats of Naomh Eoin in 2014 and Mount Leinster Rangers in 2015 and 2016. After losing the 2018 final to Mount Leinster Rangers, Kavanagh collected a fourth winners' medal as

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 ...

when St Mullin's overcame Mount Leinster Rangers in the 2019 final. He ended the season by scoring 0-12 in a defeat by

Ballyhale Shamrocks Ballyhale Shamrocks is a Gaelic games club located in the parish of Ballyhale in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a member of the Kilkenny branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Founded in 1972, the club was a amalgamation of three team ...

in the 2019 Leinster Club SHC final. Kavanagh made a further three final appearances between 2021 and 2023 and claimed a fifth winners' medal after beating Bagenalstown Gaels in the 2022 final.

Inter-county career

Kavanagh began his inter-county career with

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

during a two-year tenure with the minor team in 2011 and 2012. He was the team's top scorer both seasons with a cumulative total of 2-40. Kavanagh was in his final year with the minor team when he was drafted onto the under-21 team. His four seasons in this grade ended without success. Kavanagh was just 17-years-old and still eligible for the minor side when he made his senior team debut in a

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 ...

defeat of Down in 2012. He ended that campaign with a Division 2A title after beating

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

by 1-14 to 0-12 in the final. Kavanagh was appointed

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in advance of the 2017 season. He ended the year with a

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the third-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is ...

winners' medal after a 5-23 to 4-15 defeat of Antrim in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Kavanagh added a second Division 2A medal to his collection after another defeat of Westmeath in 2018. He played in the early stages of that year's

Joe McDonagh Cup The Joe McDonagh Cup () is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier t ...

but later spent the summer if the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and missed the defeat of Westmeath in the

. Kavanagh immediately rejoined the team after returning and was named on the Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year in 2022. He became Carlow's all-time top scorer during the 2023 National League. Kavanagh was top scorer when Carlow claimed the Joe McDonagh Cup title after a 2-29 to 1-31 defeat of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 2023 final. Kavanagh ended the season by being named on the Team of the Year for a second successive year.

Career statistics

Honours

Team

;Institute of Technology, Carlow *All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling League: 2013 ;St Mullin's *

Carlow Senior Hurling Championship The Carlow Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Carlow GAA clubs. St Mullin's are the title holders, having defeating Mount Leinster Rangers in the 2024 Final. History Since 1927, with the excepti ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

(c),

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

*Carlow Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2014 *Carlow Minor Hurling Championship: 2011 ;Carlow *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual

;Awards *Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year: 2022, 2023 *Club Hurling Team of the Year: 2020 *Higher Education Rising Stars Team of the Year: 2018 *Carlow Hurler of the Year: 2014, 2015, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Martin 1994 births Living people St Mullin's hurlers Carlow inter-county hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen