Michael Lawler (16 October 1942 – 8 November 2022) was an Irish hurler. At club level he played with Coon, Carnew Emmets and Conahy Shamrocks, and also lined out at inter-county level with

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 ...

and

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

Career

Lawler first played hurling alongside his four brothers at club level with Coon. He was part of the team that beat Knocktoper to win the Kilkenny JHC title in 1967 and gain senior status. Lawler's performances at club level resulted in him joining the

Kilkenny senior hurling team The Kilkenny county hurling team represents County Kilkenny, Kilkenny in hurling and is governed by Kilkenny GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inte ...

. He was at midfield when Kilkenny beat

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 1969 All-Ireland final. Lawler was a non-playing substitute when Kilkenny suffered defeat by Tipperary in the 1971 All-Ireland final. A move to

shortly after resulted in him joining the Carnew Emmets club. He won several Wicklow SHC medals with his adopted club, however, he also lined out illegally with Coon on a number of occasions and earned a suspension for this. Lawler also earned selection to the

Wicklow senior hurling team The Wicklow county hurling team represents Wicklow in hurling and is governed by Wicklow GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the Christy Ring Cup and the National Hurling League. Wicklow's home groun ...

. Lawler later returned to his native county and, after settling in Jenkinstown, joined the Conahy Shamrocks club. He won a Kilkenny JBHC medal in 1984 and was also named club Player of the Year at the age of 42.

Personal life and death

Lawler, the youngest of then children, was born in Coon,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () 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 Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

in October 1942. He married Margaret Scully from

Kinnitty Kinnitty () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located 13 km east of Birr, County Offaly, Birr on the R440 road, R440 and R421 road, R421 roads. The village is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. Name a ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

in 1970. The couple later settled in

Tinahely Tinahely () is a village in County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a market town in the valley of the River Derry, a tributary of the River Slaney. Location and access Tinahely is on the R747 road which links the west Wickl ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

where Lawler worked in the Avoca Mines. He later worked as an oil distributor after returning to Kilkenny. Lawler died on 8 November 2022, at the age of 80.

Honours

;Coon *

Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship The Kilkenny Premier Junior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Premier Junior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny PJHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny Count ...

: 1967 ;Carnew Emmets *

Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship The Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Lightning Protection Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Wicklow SHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Wicklow County Bo ...

: 1973, 1974, 1976 ;Conahy Shamrocks *Kilkenny Junior B Hurling Championship: 1984 ;Kilkenny *

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 ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

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

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Mick 1942 births 2022 deaths Carnew Emmets hurlers Conahy Shamrocks hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers Wicklow inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners 20th-century Irish sportsmen