Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:06, 22 January 2013

Nicholas J. English (born 1962) is a former Irish hurling manager and former player from Cullen, County Tipperary in Ireland. Better known as Nicky English, he played hurling with his local club Lattin-Cullen GAA and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1982 until 1996. His claiming of a position on the Tipperary Hurling Team of the Century marks English out as one of Tipperary's greatest-ever players.

English's status as one of Tipperary's all-time greats is self-evident. In a senior inter-county career that lasted for fourteen years he won two All-Ireland titles, five Munster Senior Hurling Championships (1987, 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1993) titles, two National Hurling League titles (1988 and 1994, although he missed the final in '94 through injury) and two Railway Cup titles. His tally of 20 goals and 117 points from 35 championship games marks him out as Tipperary's third highest scorer of all time.

English has also been the recipient of many awards and honours off the field. In 1989 his hurling prowess earned him the prestigious Texaco Hurler of the Year award. He was later honoured in 2000 when he was named, by popular opinion, in the left full-forward position on the Tipperary Hurling Team of the Century. English has also won six All-Star awards.

As a manager English has had much success with his own native county. In 2001 he guided Tipperary to All-Ireland, Munster and National Hurling League titles. What is more remarkable is the fact that these victories came at a time when many believed that Tipperary hurling was on a downward spiral again.

English currently works for TV3 in their coverage of the hurling championship season and commentated on the 2012 All Ireland minor final. He also has a weekly hurling column in the Irish Times.

Biography

Nicholas English was born in the village of Cullen on the Limerick-Tipperary border in 1962. He was educated locally and from a young age he showed great skill at the game of hurling. Although his local club had a hurling tradition, they were primarily a football club, so for the most part, English practised his hurling skills alone. His father was also a huge influence as he was a huge follower of local and inter-county hurling. English later attended the Abbey Christian Brothers School in Tipperary town, where his hurling skills were further developed. He also won a Fitzgerald Shield following a win over Rockwell College.

English did his leaving certificate in 1980. He studied electrical engineering at University College Cork until May 1981. From September 1981 he studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree and subsequently a H Dip in Education. At University College Cork he won five Fitzgibbon Cup medals in a row with UCC and scored in all five finals.

He currently works with Barclays Wealth and is a former member of the high-profile Hurling Development Committee.

In 1996 he published his autobiography "Beyond The Tunnel". The book was ghost written by Vincent Hogan of the Irish Independent.

Playing career

Club

English played his club hurling with his local Lattin-Cullen side. With the club English won an intermediate football title in 1989, a junior hurling title in 1992 and an intermediate hurling title in 1996.

Inter-county

In 1979 English joined the Tipperary minor hurling side but was eventually dropped from the team. He subsequently regained his place and won his first All-Ireland medal in 1980. By 1981 English had joined the under-21 team, where he shared in Tipperary’s third All-Ireland victory in-a-row.

In 1982 English joined the senior team, however, Tipperary hurling was in the doldrums at the time. He played in his first Munster final in 1984, however, Cork snatched victory with two quick goals in the last few minutes. In spite of this defeat English was honoured with a second consecutive All-Star award. He added a third in 1985 after scoring 2-3 in the Munster Final defeat to Cork. Two years later in 1987 English won his first Munster title following a thrilling replay win against Cork in Killarney. Tipperary were subsequently defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, English won his fourth All-Star award. In 1988 English captured his first National Hurling League title before winning his second Munster medal. He subsequently captained the side in the 1988 All-Ireland final after the controversial dropping of the original captain, Pat O'Neill. Once again Galway defeated Tipperary but English was still presented with a fifth All-Star award. In 1989 English won his third Munster title in-a-row before finally getting the better of Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Surprisingly, Antrim provided the opposition in the 1989 All-Ireland final. however, they were wiped off the pitch on a scoreline of 4-24 to 3-9. English himself amassed a personal tally of 2-12 which is the second highest total ever in a McCarthy Cup final only surpassed by the 5 goals and 4 points scored by Gah Ahern of Blackrock and Cork in the 1928 final between Cork and Galway. If Tipperary had lost that final it would have been the first decade in Gaelic Athletic Association history in which the Premier County had failed to win an All-Ireland title. The year ended with English winning his sixth All-Star award and being named Texaco Hurler of the Year.

In 1990 Tipperary lost their Munster crown. Tipperary were back on form in 1991 with English winning his fourth provincial title. He later captured his second All-Ireland medal following a defeat of Kilkenny in the 1991 All-Ireland Final. Two years later in 1993 English won his fifth Munster medal when he came on as a substitute against Clare. Tipp, however, were later defeated in the All-Ireland semi-final by their old enemies Galway. English continued playing with Tipp until his retirement in 1996.

In 2000 English’s reputation as one of Tipperary’s greatest-ever players was cemented when he was named on the Tipperary Hurling Team of the Millennium.

Managerial career

Tipperary

In 1999 English took over as manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team. In his first year in charge, English's Tipperary won the National Hurling League, but failed to get anywhere in the Championship. However, the following year, Tipperary got to the Munster Final, where they faced Cork. However, they were beaten 0-23 to 3-12, and went through to an All Ireland quarter final, where they were beaten by Galway.

In 2001 Tipperary won the National Hurling League for the first time since 1994. English subsequently guided his native county to their first Munster title since English himself was a player in 1993, beating Limerick in the final 2-16 to 1-17. Following this victory, Tipperary played an All Ireland semi final against the years losing Leinster finalists, Wexford. The game ended in a draw, and Tipperary won the replay 3-12 to 0-10. Tipperary subsequently captured their 25th All-Ireland title following a win over Galway on a scoreline of 2-18 to 2-15.

In 2002, Tipperary were beaten by Waterford in the Munster final 2-23 to 3-12. They won their qualifier match against Offaly and their All Ireland Quarter final against Antrim, to set up a semi final against Kilkenny where they were beaten 1-20 to 1-16. In the wake of this defeat, English resigned as manager.

In October 2010, various reports linked English with a return to Tipperary to succeed the departed Liam Sheedy as manager. He ruled himself out saying it was an honour to be associated with the vacancy and that he did give serious consideration to the possibility of taking on the role. He cited the difficulty in balancing the commitment required in managing an All Ireland winning squad coupled with his obligations to his employers AIB.

References

1. "Hurling All Stars 80's". gaa.ie. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
2. "GAA: Cork out hurled Tipperary to win Munster final". RTÉ Sport. 2000-07-02. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
3. "GAA: Galway defeat Tipperary". RTÉ Sport. 2000-07-24. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
4. "Tipperary steal victory in Munster Final". RTÉ Sport. 2001-07-01. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
5. "Tipp beat unlucky 13 man Wexford". RTÉ Sport. 2001-08-18. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
6. "Tipp win All Ireland final". RTÉ Sport. 2001-09-09. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
7. "Waterford win first Munster title in 39 years". RTÉ Sport. 2002-06-30. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
8. "Kilkenny win classic encounter". RTÉ Sport. 2002-08-18. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
9. "English steps down as Tipp manager". RTÉ Sport. 2002-09-24. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
10. "English rules out return to Tipp post". RTE Sport. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
11. "English rules himself out of Tipperary job". Irish Times. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2010-11-01.

External links

• Tipperay Playing Career Record
• Nicky English Interview December 2001
• Interview February 2010
• Interview June 2012

Template:Persondata

• Texaco Hurlers of the Year
• All Stars Awards winners (hurling)
• 1962 births
• Living people
• Lattin-Cullen hurlers
• Tipperary GAA hurlers
• Munster hurlers
• Hurling managers
• Winners of two All-Ireland medals (hurling)
• Sportspeople from County Tipperary