M. J. "Inky" Flaherty (27 September 1917 – 20 May 1992) was an Irish hurler who played at senior level for the Galway county team from 1936 until 1953, and was also a noted boxer. Flaherty trained the Galway hurling team in the 1950s, and again in the 1970s, leading the side to league success in 1975. Starting out playing hurling for the

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

club, Flaherty went on to spend most of his inter-club days representing

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

in both hurling and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. Also contributing as a coach and referee, his lifelong dedication to the GAA was recognized in 1989 when he was presented with a

GAA All-Time All-Star Award Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an enz ...

. The currently uncontested

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 ...

was named in his honour.

Playing career

A native of

Bohermore Bohermore () is an area of Galway City, Galway, Ireland. It got this name as it was the main road into Galway City from the east in medieval times. The area is known as the location of the large Bohermore Cemetery, also called the "New Cemeter ...

Galway city 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 ...

, Inky played in his first county championship final for Liam Mellows in 1935. Only 17 years old, he scored three goals, helping Mellows to their first county senior hurling title. After moving to

in 1940 for work purposes, Flaherty joined St Brigid's hurling team, Ballinasloe, which made the transition to senior level that same year. With Ballinasloe he reached another county championship final in 1943, but was denied the win by his former club, Liam Mellows. He finally got a county hurling medal with Ballinasloe when they won the championship in 1951. Flaherty played inter-county hurling for Galway from 1936 to 1953,

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 ...

ing the side to a

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 ...

title in 1951 in

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 * ...

. He also won a

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 ...

(inter-provincial) medal with

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 1947.

Refereeing career

Flaherty was also a referee, regularly officiating club and county matches at different levels throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He refereed the 1949 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, a clash between Tipperary and

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, which saw Tipp winning the first of three consecutive titles by a scoreline of 3–11 to 0–3. At the age of 32, Flaherty was yet to contest a hurling final of his own.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaherty, Michael John 1917 births 1992 deaths All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final referees Ballinasloe hurlers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Galway inter-county hurlers Hurling referees Irish nurses Liam Mellows hurlers Psychiatric nurses Health professionals from County Galway 20th-century Irish sportsmen