Michael Coleman (8 August 1963 – 7 February 2025) was an Irish hurler who played for the

Abbeyknockmoy Abbeyknockmoy () is a village and parish in County Galway, Ireland. It is known for the nearby ruins of the 12th century Cistercian abbey, established with the Kings of Connacht as its benefactors. The abbey was the burial site of King Cathal ...

club and at senior level for the Galway county team. With Galway he won the

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Born and raised in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Coleman attended St Jarlath's College in

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

. Although regarded as a college more famous for

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

, he played hurling at all levels during his schooldays. Coleman later studied at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

and was a two-time

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

runner-up.

Club career

Coleman first played for

at adult level in 1981. He scored three points from centre-back when Abbeyknockmoy beat

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a village and townland in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the village had a population of approximately 1,000 people. Craughwell is ...

by 1-09 to 1-02 to claim the Galway IHC title in 1985. Three years later, Coleman was again at centre-back when Abbeyknockmoy reached the senior decider. He scored 1-02, including a penalty, as the club claimed their inaugural Galway SHC title after a one-point defeat of

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

in a final replay.

Inter-county career

Coleman first played for

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 ...

at inter-county level as a member of the minor team. He came on as a substitute and scored a point in Galway's 1-20 to 3-09 defeat 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 1981 All-Ireland minor final. Coleman immediately progressed to Galway's under-21 team and was an unused substitute when

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 * ...

beat Galway by a single point in the 1982 All-Ireland under-21 final. He broke onto the starting fifteen a year later and claimed an All-Ireland U21HC medal after a 0-12 to 1-06 defeat of Tipperary in that year's All-Ireland under-21 final. Coleman was still eligible for the under-21 grade when he was drafted onto Galway's junior team. He lost back-to-back All-Ireland finals in that grade, first to Cork in 1983 and, later, to Kilkenny in 1984. By that stage, Coleman had already joined the senior team, after being added to the panel for 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 ...

in March 1984. After a period away from the team, Coleman was recalled and won a National Hurling League title in 1987 following Galway's 3-12 to 3-10 win over

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 was later released from the panel and was a spectator when Galway beat Kilkenny to win that year's All-Ireland SHC title. Coleman was again recalled to the team and was selected at midfield for the 1988 All-Ireland final against Tipperary. He ended the game with an All-Ireland SHC winners' medal following Galway's 1-15 to 0-14 victory. Coleman collected his first

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 1989, before claiming a second consecutive award in 1990. He had earlier lined out at midfield in Galway's 5-15 to 2-21 defeat by Cork in the 1990 All-Ireland final. Coleman made his third All-Ireland final appearance in 1993, however, he once again ended on the losing side after a 2-17 to 1-15 defeat by Kilkenny. After winning the first of four consecutive Connacht SHC medals and being presented with a third All Star in 1995, Coleman 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 1996. He claimed a third National League title that year. Coleman stepped away from the team at the end of the 1998 season, however, he was recalled a year later for an All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Clare.

Inter-provincial career

Coleman's performances at inter-county level resulted in his selection for the

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 ...

team. He won his first

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 ...

medal in 1989, following a 4-16 to 3-17 defeat of

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 ...

in the final. Coleman added a second winners' medal to his collection two years later when Munster were once again beaten. Coleman won a third Railway Cup title in 1994, when he captained the team to a one-point win over Leinster.

Coaching career

Coleman spent a number of years as coach and selector with the Leitrim senior hurling team. He was part of the management team in 2019 when Leitrim won the

Lory Meagher Cup The Lory Meagher Cup (; often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fifth-tier of hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champio ...

for the first time following a 2–23 to 2–22 win over

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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 ...

Death

Coleman died on 7 February 2025, at the age of 61, following an accident at his home. His death happened while he was at work clearing damage caused by

Storm Éowyn Storm Éowyn ( ) was a powerful and record-breaking extratropical cyclone which hit Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom on 24 January 2025 and hit Norway on the night of 24 January into 25 January 2025. The twent ...

. Survived by his wife, son and daughter, Coleman's funeral was held at Brooklodge's Church of the Immaculate Conception on 13 February.

Honours

Player

;Abbeyknockmoy *

Galway Senior Hurling Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...

: 1988 * Galway Intermediate Hurling Championship: 1985 ;Galway *

Connacht Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht GAA, Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inte ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

( c),

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: 1986–87, 1988–89, 1995–96 ( c) *

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). ...

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 ...

;Connacht *

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 ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

( c) ;Individual *

All-Stars An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

(3): 1989, 1990, 1995

Management

;Leitrim *

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Michael 1963 births 2025 deaths Abbeyknockmoy hurlers Accidental deaths in Ireland All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Alumni of the University of Galway Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Hurling coaches Hurling selectors Leitrim county hurling team 20th-century Irish sportsmen University of Galway hurlers