Maurice Leahy (born 1952 in

Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

) is an Irish former

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 ...

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 ...

and former player. He played hurling with his local club

and with the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1977 until 1989. Leahy later served as manager of the Kerry senior inter-county hurling team on six separate occasions.

Playing career

Club

Leahy played his club

with his local

club. He had his first major success in 1979 when he captured his first

Kerry Senior Hurling Championship The Kerry Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kerry GAA, Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 ...

title. It was Causeway's first championship title since 1932. Leahy added three more county medals to his collection as Causeway completed a "four-in-a-row". He won a fifth county title in 1989. In the early to mid 1970s, he played both club football and hurling in Cork. Firstly football for

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

for eight years. He also spent a year with

Newtownshandrum Newtownshandrum () is a small village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland located west of Charleville, County Cork, Charleville on the R515 road (Ireland), R515 road. The name translates from Irish to mean 'new town of the old ridge'. ...

, with whom he won a

Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board ...

title in 1976.

Inter-county

Leahy made his senior inter-county debut with Kerry in 1977. Kerry were the reigning All-Ireland 'B' champions when he joined the panel, however, Kerry surrendered their title. Three years later, in 1980, Leahy took on the role of player-manager in 1980. It was the beginning of a successful period for Kerry. 1983 saw Leahy collect an All-Ireland 'B' medal as the men from 'the Kingdom' defeated

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to take the title. He gave up the position of manager following that victory, however, he was reappointed as manager in 1985. The following year Leahy captured his second All-Ireland 'B' medal as player-manager. He retired from inter-county hurling in 1989. While better known as a hurler, he also played with the Kerry senior football team during the mid 1970s.

Post-playing career

Not long after his retirement from playing, Leahy was back as manager again in 1989. His stay was a short one on this occasion and he left without success in 1990. Two years later, in 1992, Leahy served as a selector when

John Meyler John Meyler (born 1956) is an Irish hurling manager and former selector, association footballer, Gaelic footballer and hurler who is currently the manager of kilmoyley. He has formerly managed the Kerry, Wexford, Carlow and Cork senior hurling ...

took charge of Kerry's hurlers. This period included victory over

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the 1993 championship. Leahy remained as a selector for most of the 1990s. He returned to the top job for the fourth time in 2001. His fourth term in charge saw Kerry defeat

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 ...

to take 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 ...

division two title. Leahy was replaced as manager again in 2002, however, he returned for another short stint in 2003. He completed his sixth term as manager between 2006 and 2007. Leahy has county championship titles with local clubs

Ballyheigue Ballyheigue ( ), officially Ballyheige (), is a coastal town and civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. It is northwest of Tralee along the R551 road. It is a scenic locale which forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way and has several miles of bea ...

and

Lixnaw Lixnaw () is a village in the north of County Kerry, Ireland. It is near the River Brick, southwest of Listowel and northeast of Tralee. History Lixnaw was once the seat of the Fitzmaurice family, the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the ...

. He also managed the Kilcummin footballers as well as Causeway Comprehensive School teams with whom he won 2 All Ireland Vocational Schools title in 2009 and 2010. He also managed the Tralee IT Sigerson Cup team in 2008.

External links

Profile of Maurice and D.J. Leahy
* http://www.sportsfile.com/id/059258/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Maurice 1952 births Living people Causeway hurlers Newtownshandrum hurlers Clonakilty Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county hurlers Hurling managers 20th-century Irish sportsmen