Stephen Lillis (born 10 January 1986) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

hurler who played as a left wing-back for the

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

senior team. Lillis made his first appearance for the team during the 2007 Waterford Crystal Cup and later became a member of the extended panel for the championship. He returned to the Tipperary team for the 2011 championship. During that time he won one

Waterford Crystal Cup The Waterford Crystal Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2006 to 2015 for the top inter-county teams and third-level institutes and universities in the province of Munste ...

medal. At club level Lillis is a four-time county club championship medalist with Thurles Sarsfield's.

Playing career

Club

Lillis plays his club hurling with the famous Thurles Sarsfield's club and enjoyed much success in various juvenile and under-age grades. In 2005 Lillis lined out in his first county final at senior level. A 1-17 to 0-15 defeat of Drom-Inch gave Thurles Sarsfield's their first title in thirty-one years. It was Lillis's first

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

medal. After losing the championship decider in 2008, Thurles Sarsfield's bounced back to return to the county final again the following year. A 0-14 to 0-5 trouncing of Drom-Inch gave him Lillis his second county club championship medal. Thurles Sarsfield's made it two-in-a-row in 2010. A 1-16 to 1-7 defeat of Clonoulty-Rossmore gave Lillis a third championship medal. After surrendering their title in 2011, Thurles Sarsfield's were back in the county decider again the following year. A 1-21 to 2-15 defeat of Drom-Inch gave Lillis his fourth championship medal.

Inter-county

Lillis first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Tipperary minor hurling team in 2004. He enjoyed little success in this grade before moving onto the Tipp under-21 team in 2006. In his debut year Lillis secured a

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

winners' medal in that grade following a 3-11 to 0-13 defeat of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. Tipp later qualified for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny. After a thrilling 2-14 apiece draw, both sides met for a replay which Kilkenny narrowly won by 1-11 to 0-11. Lillis made his senior debut for Tipperary in the pre-season

in 2007. He secured a winners' medal in that competition following a 1-17 to 2-11 defeat of Cork. Lillis was later included in Tipperary's panel for the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual 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 league system. ...

and championship. After being dropped from the team after 2007, Lillis returned as a senior panelist in 2011. He made his debut against

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in the Munster semi-final that year, however, he played no part in Tipp's subsequent Munster final defeat of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. Lillis was dropped from the panel in 2012.

Honours

Team

;Thurles Sarsfield's * Tipperary Senior Club Hurling Championship (4): 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012 ;Tipperary *

(1): 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lillis, Stephen 1986 births Living people Thurles Sarsfields hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers