Stephen McDonnell (born 28 January 1989) is an Irish hurler who plays as a corner-back for Premier Senior Championship club

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They have been historically part of the ''Big Three'' of Cork hurl ...

. He made 70 appearances for the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

between 2011 and 2020, serving as

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 ...

for two seasons. McDonnell began his inter-county career as

of the Cork minor team in 2007. After a stint with the under-21 team, he joined the Cork senior team for the 2011 season and made his last appearance as a substitute during the 2020 qualifiers. In the interim, McDonnell started in the 2013 All-Ireland final draw and replay defeat by

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 ...

and won two Munster Championship titles, the second as captain of the team in 2017. After a successful underage career, McDonnell made his senior club championship debut with Glen Rovers as a 17-year-old in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and has since established himself as one of the mainstays of the team. He was a member of the Glen Rovers team that won

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

titles in

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 ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Cork Institute of Technology

On 3 March 2012, McDonnell lined out at full-back for the

Cork Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, ...

when they faced

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. CIT suffered a 2-15 to 2-14 defeat after extra-time.

Glen Rovers

Minor and under-21

McDonnell joined the

club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 20 November 2005, he was at midfield when Glen Rovers defeated

Carrigaline Carrigaline (; ) is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork (city), Cork city, and with a population of 18,239 people, it is one of the largest commuter ...

by 0-15 to 1-08 in the Premier County Minor Championship final. On 11 November 2006, McDonnell was again at midfield for a second successive Premier County Minor Championship final.

Bishopstown Bishopstown () is a suburb of Cork, located in the south west of the city. It is made-up of the townlands of Ballineaspigbeg and Ballineaspigmore (sometimes spelled Ballinaspigmore), and is located in the civil parish of St. Finbar's in the hi ...

were the opponents, however,0-12 from

Patrick Horgan Patrick 'Hoggie' Horgan. (born 5 May 1988) is an Irish Hurling, hurler who plays for Cork Senior Hurling Championship, Cork Senior Championship club Glen Rovers GAA, Glen Rovers and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He us ...

secured an 0-18 to 2-09 victory. McDonnell subsequently progressed onto the Glen Rovers under-21 team. On 8 November 2008, he was at left wing-back when Glen Rovers drew with

Duhallow Duhallow () is a barony located in the north-western part of County Cork, Ireland. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of Irish counties and used in the administration of justice and the raisi ...

in the Cork Premier Under-21 Championship final. The replay took place on 16 November, with Glen Rovers winning by 4-15 to 2-18.

Senior

On 10 October 2010, McDonnell lined out at full-back in Glen Rovers' first Cork Senior Championship final in 19 years, however, Sarsfields won the game by 1-17 to 0-18. On 12 October 2014, McDonnell was again at full-back when Glen Rovers faced Sarsfields in the Cork Senior Championship final. After helping to set up the Glen's opening score, the team suffered a heavy 2-18 to 0-08 defeat. McDonnell was at right corner-back for much of the Glen's 2015 championship campaign. He was also named in that position for the final against reigning champions Sarsfields, with the Glen winning by 2-17 to 1-13. It was the club's first championship title since

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 ...

. For the third year in-a-row, Glen Rovers qualified for the championship final on 9 October 2016. McDonnell was at full-back in the 0-19 to 2-10 defeat of Erin's Own. On 20 October 2019, McDonnell played in his fifth

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 ...

when Glen Rovers faced

Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

. Lining out at right corner-forward, he ended the game on the losing side following a 2-17 to 1-16 defeat.

Cork

Minor and under-21

McDonnell first played for

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 * ...

at minor level during the 2007 Championship, a year which also saw him

the team. He made his first appearance on 2 May when he played at left wing-back in Cork's 3-15 to 0-09 defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. On 8 July, McDonnell was at midfield for Cork's 0-18 to 1-11 Munster Championship final defeat by Tipperary. After being substituted in that game, he was dropped from the starting fifteen for the subsequent All-Ireland Championship and replaced as captain by Ryan Clifford. On 2 September, McDonnell started the All-Ireland final against Tipperary on the bench but was introduced as a 24th-minute substitute in the 3-14 to 2-11 defeat. On 2 June 2010, McDonnell made his first appearance for the Cork under-21 team in a 1-16 to 1-03 defeat of Waterford in the Munster Championship.

Senior

McDonnell was drafted onto the Cork senior panel by team manager

Denis Walsh Denis Walsh (born 22 January 1965 in Ballynoe, County Cork) is an Irish hurling manager and former dual player of Gaelic games. He is a former manager of the Cork senior hurling team. An effective dual player, Walsh had a successful playing ca ...

in advance of the 2011 season. He made his first appearance for the team on 13 February 2011 when he lined out at right corner-back in a 1-20 to 1-15 defeat of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. McDonnell made six league appearances and was retained when Walsh named his panel for the 2011 Munster Championship. He made his championship debut at right corner-back on 29 May 2011 in a 3-22 to 0-23 defeat by Tipperary. The 2012 National League saw McDonnell play a regular role on Cork's starting fifteen. On 6 May 2012, he was selected at full-back for Cork's 3-21 to 0-16 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 league final. McDonnell missed the subsequent Munster Championship defeat by Tipperary, however, he returned to the starting fifteen for the latter stages of the All-Ireland Championship where he again lined out at full-back. On 14 July 2013, McDonnell lined out in his first

Munster final 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 ...

, a game which saw Cork suffer a 0-24 to 0-15 defeat by

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. In spite of that defeat, Cork subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland final against

, with McDonnell lining out at right corner-back in the 3-16 to 0-25 draw. He was selected in the same position for the replay, which Cork lost by 5-16 to 3-16. The 2014 season saw McDonnell secure his first silverware as Cork won the Munster Championship title after a 2-24 to 0-24 win over Limerick in the last

to be played at the old

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. Often referred to simply as "The Park", it is the home of Cork GAA and is located in Ballintemple, near the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. In February 2024, follo ...

. He ended the season by being nominated for an

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 ...

. McDonnell made five appearances for Cork during the 2015 National League campaign, including at left corner-back in Cork's 1-24 to 0-17 defeat by Waterford in the league final. He lined out in all of Cork's subsequent championship games during their unsuccessful campaign. On 3 November 2015, McDonnell was appointed

of the Cork senior hurling team. A broken elbow sustained in a challenge match ruled McDonnell out of Cork's opening Munster Championship game, while his first season as captain ended with a first championship defeat for Cork by

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in 60 years. McDonnell retained the captaincy of the team for the 2017 season. He won his second Munster Championship medal on 9 July following a 1-25 to 1-20 defeat of Clare in the

. In December, McDonnell announced that he was leaving the Cork panel. Team manager

John Meyler John Meyler (born 1956) is an Irish hurling manager and former selector, association footballer, Gaelic footballer and hurler who is currently the manager of kilmoyley. He has formerly managed the Kerry, Wexford, Carlow and Cork senior hurling ...

said: "Stephen’s not in our plans. He’s taking time out in 2018 so he won’t be available." After a one-year absence, it was announced in November 2018 that McDonnell would be returning to the Cork panel for the 2019 season. He made eight league and championship appearances after making his return. The 2020 season saw McDonnell fail to make a single appearance during the

. He was again an unused substitute for Cork's Munster Championship defeat by Waterford before coming off the bench in both of Cork's qualifier games. On 6 January 2021, McDonnell announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.

Career statistics

Honours

;Glen Rovers *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

(2)

Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Evening Echo'' Cork County Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship, is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic ...

(1): 2008 *Cork Minor Hurling Championship (2): 2005, 2006 ;Cork *

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

(2):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Munster Senior Hurling League The Munster Senior Hurling League is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 2016 for the top inter-county teams in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of ga ...

(1):

References

External links

Stephen McDonnell profile
at the Cork GAA website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcdonnell, Stephen 1989 births Living people CIT hurlers Glen Rovers hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling backs 21st-century Irish sportsmen