Sligo County Hurling Team
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The Sligo county hurling team represents
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
in
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 ...
and is governed by
Sligo GAA The Sligo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Sligo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Sligo. The county board is also responsible for the Sligo county ...
, the
county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...
of the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
. The team competes in the
Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...
and 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 ...
. It formerly competed in the abolished
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 ...
, finishing as runner-up in 1900 and 1906. Sligo's home ground is
Markievicz Park Markievicz Park () is the principal GAA stadium in County Sligo, Ireland, home to the Sligo Gaelic football and hurling teams. Built in 1955 in Sligo town (due mostly to Seán Forde who single-handedly gathered the funds necessary to build the ...
,
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
. The team's manager is Stephen Sheil. The team has never won the Connacht Senior Championship, the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League.


History

Sligo is traditionally a weak team at senior level. Despite this, the hurlers have attained noticeably more success than their football counterparts, with the county's most notable early achievement being Sligo won the All-Ireland Minor 'C' Hurling Championship in August 1986, defeating Tyrone by four points at
Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
. Sligo won the
2005 National Hurling League The 2005 National Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Hurling League, was the 74th edition of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams. Kilkenny won the league, be ...
Division 3 title. Sligo, under the management of Mickey Galvin, won its first All-Ireland hurling title at senior level by defeating
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...
in the
2008 Nicky Rackard Cup final The 2008 Nicky Rackard Cup final was a hurling match played at Croke Park on 3 August 2008 to determine the winners of the 2008 Nicky Rackard Cup. This was the fourth season of the Nicky Rackard Cup, a tournament organized by the Gaelic Athlet ...
. The team did not achieve
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
however, losing a play-off to
Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...
. The under-16 team won the 2012 All-Ireland "C" hurling title by defeating Tyrone at the Monaghan Centre of Excellence. 2018 had both senior and minor teams bring national silverware back to the Land of the Shells. Sligo won a senior All-Ireland title for the first time since 2008. The men, jointly managed by
Daithí Hand Daithí Hand is a hurling Manager (Gaelic games), manager and hurling coach. A former manager of Sligo county hurling team, Sligo, he is that county's most successful in its history. Hand led Sligo to consecutive All-Ireland titles in 2018 and 201 ...
and Darragh Cox in their first senior hurling management role, defeated
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
2018 Lory Meagher Cup The 2018 Lory Meagher Cup was the tenth edition of the Lory Meagher Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2009 and is the fifth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is t ...
final, with a last-minute Kevin Gilmartin goal (his third of the game) sealing the victory. Benny Kenny's under-17 squad, a few weeks later, defeated Donegal to become All-Ireland Celtic Challenge Cup Champions in the Michael Feery Cup, also defeating Mayo, Roscommon and others along the way. The county team won a second consecutive senior title in 2019 under Hand, Peter Galvin and coach Colum O'Meara. Having been promoted to the
Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...
, the team topped Group 2, eliminating favourite Mayo, in a drawn game after beating Tyrone and Louth in previous games. Following on from a 2–21 to 2–17 victory over
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
at Celtic Park, Sligo advanced to the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup final at Croke Park. Facing a heavily tipped
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
side, Sligo became champions with a Conor Griffin point, a
Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Sligo Championship clubs Naomh Eoin and St Mary's and at inter-county level with the Sligo senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward. Career ...
goal and a 73rd-minute point by young substitute Kieran Prior. The scoreline at the game's conclusion was 2–14 to 2–13; though the team was four points behind Armagh as the game entered injury-time, the two lates points and the goal meant Sligo secured a one-point victory. James Weir, at 19 years of age and the youngest ever All-Ireland winning captain, lifted aloft the Nicky Rackard Cup Hand and fellow management team member Peter Galvin tendered their resignations on the evening of 14 September 2020, less than one month before the team was scheduled to contest a National League final and make its debut in the
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 ...
. Confusion over efforts to register two players from Galway with Sligo heritage and the involvement of one of their coaches with a club, unbeknownst to Hand and Galvin, were cited as partly contributing to this unexpected decision. The county board did not report their departures until 20 September. The coach, later named as Colum O'Meara, then applied (unsuccessfully) to become Hand's successor; O'Meara, a native of
Killimor Killimor () is a village in east County Galway, Ireland. It is on the N65 road around north-west of Portumna Portumna (- meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border ...
,
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 ...
, had joined the Sligo set-up as coach ahead of the 2019 season after parting ways with
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
. Padraig Mannion ultimately succeeded Hand as Sligo manager in late 2020.


Panel

INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
RET Player has since retired from the county team.
WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.


Management team

:''Appointed 6 October 2023:'' *
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 ...
: Stephen Sheil *Management team: Donal O'Brien, Séamus Qualter


Managerial history

*Mickey Galvin: 2008, e.g. Lory Meagher Cup (see ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' source) *
Daithí Hand Daithí Hand is a hurling Manager (Gaelic games), manager and hurling coach. A former manager of Sligo county hurling team, Sligo, he is that county's most successful in its history. Hand led Sligo to consecutive All-Ireland titles in 2018 and 201 ...
and Darragh Small: 2018 *
Daithí Hand Daithí Hand is a hurling Manager (Gaelic games), manager and hurling coach. A former manager of Sligo county hurling team, Sligo, he is that county's most successful in its history. Hand led Sligo to consecutive All-Ireland titles in 2018 and 201 ...
: 2019–20 *Padraig Mannion: 2020–2023 *Stephen Sheil: 2023–


Players


Notable players


Records

* Paul Seevers would be a prominent hurler for his county for more the 20 years. Seevers won the 2008 Nicky Rackard Cup with his county, three
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 ...
s 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 ...
and represented
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in the 2003 Shinty-Hurling International Series. *
Keith Raymond Keith Raymond (born 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays as a centre-back for the Sligo senior team. Born in Sligo, Raymond first played competitive hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Calry/St. Joseph's club. He later joined the c ...
*
Andrew Kilcullen Andrew Kilcullen (born 18 March 2000) is a dual player of Gaelic games, i.e. hurling and Gaelic football, who plays for Sligo Championship club Easkey GAA, Easkey and at inter-county level for the Sligo senior hurling team. Born in Easkey, Coun ...
*
Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Sligo Championship clubs Naomh Eoin and St Mary's and at inter-county level with the Sligo senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward. Career ...
also represented Ireland, in his case in 2018.


Champions 15

* 2015 Lory Meagher Cup champions **
Keith Raymond Keith Raymond (born 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays as a centre-back for the Sligo senior team. Born in Sligo, Raymond first played competitive hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Calry/St. Joseph's club. He later joined the c ...
**
Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Sligo Championship clubs Naomh Eoin and St Mary's and at inter-county level with the Sligo senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward. Career ...
**
Gary Cadden Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...
*
2018 Lory Meagher Cup The 2018 Lory Meagher Cup was the tenth edition of the Lory Meagher Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2009 and is the fifth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is t ...
champions ** James Weir **
Gary Cadden Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...
*2019 GAA/GPA Champion 15 **James Weir **
Keith Raymond Keith Raymond (born 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays as a centre-back for the Sligo senior team. Born in Sligo, Raymond first played competitive hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Calry/St. Joseph's club. He later joined the c ...
**
Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Sligo Championship clubs Naomh Eoin and St Mary's and at inter-county level with the Sligo senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward. Career ...
*2021 GAA/GPA Champion 15 **
Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Sligo Championship clubs Naomh Eoin and St Mary's and at inter-county level with the Sligo senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a forward. Career ...
*2022 GAA/GPA Champion 15 **
Andrew Kilcullen Andrew Kilcullen (born 18 March 2000) is a dual player of Gaelic games, i.e. hurling and Gaelic football, who plays for Sligo Championship club Easkey GAA, Easkey and at inter-county level for the Sligo senior hurling team. Born in Easkey, Coun ...


List of seasons


Season-by-season record


Competitive record


Head-to-head Championship record

Every championship result since the restructuring of the hurling championships in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. ''As of 17 August 2022.'' Sligo has not played the following teams in the championship since 2005:


Honours


National

*
All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Intermediate All-Ireland Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Effectively contested by the second ...
/
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 ...
** Semi-finalists (1):
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
*
All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship The All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship was a hurling competition organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland. The competition was originally contested by the second teams of the strong counties, and the first teams of the weaker ...
/
Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...
** Winners (2):
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
,
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 ...
* All-Ireland Junior B Hurling Championship/
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 ...
** Winners (1):
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 ...
** Runners-up (2):
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 ...
* National Hurling League Division 3 ** Winners (2)
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
* National Hurling League Division 3B ** Winners (1):
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
* National Hurling League Division 4 ** Winners (1):
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...


Provincial

*
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 ...
** Runners-up (2): 1900, 1906 *
Connacht Junior Hurling Championship The Connacht Junior Hurling Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Hurling played in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Connacht Council. The winners of the Connacht Junior Hur ...
** Winners (3): 1968, 1973, 2019 ** Runners-up (7): 1929, 1930, 1954, 1963 1967, 1976, 2004


References

{{GAA National Leagues County hurling teams