Tom (Tomásin) Nolan (born Clandouglas,

Lixnaw Lixnaw () is a village in the north of County Kerry, Ireland. It is near the River Brick, southwest of Listowel and northeast of Tralee. History Lixnaw was once the seat of the Fitzmaurice family, the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the ...

, County Kerry) was a hurler from

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. He played with the Kerry and the

Crotta O'Neill's Crotta O'Neill's are a hurling club in the Kilflynn area of County Kerry, Ireland. The club is named after Maurice O'Neill, an Irish Republican. They play in the Kerry Senior Hurling Championship. The club is primarily concerned with the gam ...

club. Nolan was at his best at midfield during Crotta's glorious period in the 1940s and early 1950s. During that time

were one of the strongest sides in Kerry hurling. He won six

Kerry Senior Hurling Championship The Kerry Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kerry GAA, Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 ...

s. Nolan won the first of his County Championship medals in 1943, when Crotta, defeated Kenmare in the final. The Crotta team went on to complete three-in-a-row in 1944 and 1945 and took further titles in 1947, 1950 and 1951, with Nolan at mid-field in five of the victories. He was captain in 1950 and '51 teams. Nolan went on to play in further county finals in 1952 and 1957 but Crotta were defeated in both. Nolan was a central figure in most of the Crotta teams that reigned supreme, winning eight county titles between 1939 and 1951. He and his fellow Kerryman Frank Kissane (Ardfert's 1949 winning captain) both played in the

Limerick Senior Hurling Championship The Limerick Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bon Secours Hospital County Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Limerick SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Limerick County Board ...

when they were brought in as 'guest' for Tournafulla. They later went on to win the Limerick Championship for the club. He played his hurling with many of the greats in Ireland at the time, including

Christy Ring Nicholas Christy Michael Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career at senior level with the Cork county team spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. He established many championship ...

, Willie John Daly, Josie Hartnett, the Kennys of Tipperary, Paddy, Sean and Phil, Tommy and John Doyle and Limerick's

Jackie Power Jackie Power (30 May 1916 – 23 February 1994) was an Irish sportsperson. A renowned dual player, he played both hurling and Gaelic football with his local club Ahane and with the Limerick senior inter-county teams in both codes from 1935 ...

. In retirement, he served Crotta on the sideline as manager. He had five sons Todd, Cyril, Kieran, Pascal and Dominick all served Crotta and Kerry with admirable distinction with Todd, who also played with Munster.

References

"Nolan, Tomasin."
Hoganstand.com. Kerry inter-county hurlers Crotta O'Neill's hurlers Tournafulla hurlers Year of birth missing 2007 deaths {{Limerick-hurling-bio-stub