John Allen (hurler)
Encyclopedia
John Allen is an Irish
retired hurler
and Gaelic football
er and is the current manager of the Limerick
senior hurling team.
A dual player
at the highest level, Allen spent three season with the Cork senior hurling team. During that time he won one All-Ireland
winners' medal and one Munster
winners' medal. Allen also spent five seasons with the Cork senior football team, during which time he won one Munster
winners' medal and one National Football League
winners' medal.
At club level, Barry-Murphy was a dual All-Ireland medalist with St. Finbarr's
, while he also collected a number of provincial and club championship winners' medals in both codes.
In retirement from playing Allen turned his hand to coaching and team management. A successful few years as masseur and selector with the Cork senior hurling team lead to the beginning of a two-year tenure as team manager in 2004. During that period he guided Cork to an All-Ireland title and back-to-back Munster titles.
On 11 October 2011 Allen was ratified as manager of the Limerick senior hurling team.
and football
with St. Finbarr's
club in Cork. Towards the late 1970s he won several Cork county championship medals in both codes. In 1977 he won both Munster
and All-Ireland
club medals with the St. Finbarr's hurling team. Two years later in 1979 and 1980 Allen won back-to-back Munster and All-Ireland club
football medals. He won a third Munster club football title in 1982 before adding another set of Munster and All-Ireland club football titles in 1986.
. Allen first tasted major success in 1976 when he won an All-Ireland
medal with Cork's under-21 hurling side. He soon made the step up to senior level where he won his first and only All-Ireland
medal as a player in 1978
where he came on as a substitute. Allen's sporting career turned to football following this. He won a National Football League
in 1980 and won a Munster Football Championship
medal in 1983.
titles, as well as an All-Ireland
title. He opted out for a year in 2002 but returned as a selector in 2003. That year Cork won the Munster title again, however, they lost out to Kilkenny
in the All-Ireland final. The following year Allen was still a selector when Cork lost their Munster crown but won the All-Ireland title following a victory over Kilkenny. In late October 2004 Allen succeeded Donal O'Grady
as the Cork manager for a two-year term and was immediately charged with the task of guiding the team to a second consecutive All-Ireland title for the 2005 Championship
.
. In the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final Clare
gave Allen's side a fright when they went six points up with just over twenty minutes left to play. Cork fought back and won the game by a single point. It was a wake-up call to a side that had taken winning for granted. The championship decider saw Cork take on Galway
, winners of a thrilling semi-final with Kilkenny. On a sun-drenched day Cork defeated the men from the West on a score line of 1-21 to 1-16. It was Cork's second championship title in-a-row and Allen's first as manager.
Cork launched an all-out assault on capturing a third consecutive All-Ireland title. Allen's side got off to a good start with a comprehensive win over Clare
before later retaining their Munster title following a win over Tipperary. One point wins over Limerick
and Waterford
saw Cork reach a fourth successive championship decider. Kilkenny, Cork's arch rivals, provided the opposition once again. It was a repeat of 2004 when Kilkenny were going fof three wins in-a-row, however, Cork stopped them. On this occasion the tables were turned as Kilkenny halted Cork's bid for a three in-a-row, defeating them by 1-16 to 1-13. Shortly after his first defeat in ten games Allen announced, after much speculation, that he was not seeking another term as Cork manager. Allen's selector, Ger Cunningham
, was the early favourite to succeed him, before former Cork player Gerald McCarthy got the position.
Allen still maintains a strong association with the game as a pundit with Spóirt Beo on TG4
and with a regular column in the Irish Times and Gaelscéal' newspaper.
senior hurling manager on 11 October 2011 on a two year contract, succeeding Dónal O'Grady
.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
retired hurler
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
er and is the current manager of the Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
senior hurling team.
A dual player
Dual player
Dual player or dual star is a term used in Gaelic games to describe a player who plays both Men's Gaelic football and Hurling or Ladies' Gaelic football and Camogie. The player doesn't necessarily have to play at the same standard in both sports...
at the highest level, Allen spent three season with the Cork senior hurling team. During that time he won one All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
winners' medal and one Munster
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
winners' medal. Allen also spent five seasons with the Cork senior football team, during which time he won one Munster
Munster Senior Football Championship
The Munster Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of football played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council and are played during the summer months...
winners' medal and one National Football League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...
winners' medal.
At club level, Barry-Murphy was a dual All-Ireland medalist with St. Finbarr's
St. Finbarr's GAA
St. Finbarr's National Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Togher area of Cork city, County Cork, Ireland....
, while he also collected a number of provincial and club championship winners' medals in both codes.
In retirement from playing Allen turned his hand to coaching and team management. A successful few years as masseur and selector with the Cork senior hurling team lead to the beginning of a two-year tenure as team manager in 2004. During that period he guided Cork to an All-Ireland title and back-to-back Munster titles.
On 11 October 2011 Allen was ratified as manager of the Limerick senior hurling team.
Club
Allen played his club hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
with St. Finbarr's
St. Finbarr's GAA
St. Finbarr's National Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Togher area of Cork city, County Cork, Ireland....
club in Cork. Towards the late 1970s he won several Cork county championship medals in both codes. In 1977 he won both Munster
Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 for the top hurling clubs in the province of Munster in Ireland...
and All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling tournament played between hundreds of senior hurling clubs in Ireland. The Tommy Moore Cup is awarded to the winners. The current champions are Clarinbridge...
club medals with the St. Finbarr's hurling team. Two years later in 1979 and 1980 Allen won back-to-back Munster and All-Ireland club
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
football medals. He won a third Munster club football title in 1982 before adding another set of Munster and All-Ireland club football titles in 1986.
Inter-county
Allen was quickly noticed by the Cork inter-county selectors and became a member of the minor hurling panel in 1973. Over the next decade he would have great success as a dual playerDual player
Dual player or dual star is a term used in Gaelic games to describe a player who plays both Men's Gaelic football and Hurling or Ladies' Gaelic football and Camogie. The player doesn't necessarily have to play at the same standard in both sports...
. Allen first tasted major success in 1976 when he won an All-Ireland
All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship
The All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship is the premier "knockout" competition for players aged between 18 and 21 in the game of hurling played in Ireland...
medal with Cork's under-21 hurling side. He soon made the step up to senior level where he won his first and only All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
medal as a player in 1978
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1978
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1978 was the 92nd series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
where he came on as a substitute. Allen's sporting career turned to football following this. He won a National Football League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...
in 1980 and won a Munster Football Championship
Munster Senior Football Championship
The Munster Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of football played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council and are played during the summer months...
medal in 1983.
Managerial career
In retirement from playing Allen became involved in coaching various teams at all levels. From 1999 until 2001 he served as masseur with the Cork senior hurling team. During that period the team collected two MunsterMunster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
titles, as well as an All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
title. He opted out for a year in 2002 but returned as a selector in 2003. That year Cork won the Munster title again, however, they lost out to Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
in the All-Ireland final. The following year Allen was still a selector when Cork lost their Munster crown but won the All-Ireland title following a victory over Kilkenny. In late October 2004 Allen succeeded Donal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady is an Irish former hurler and manager.O'Grady enjoyed a successful playing career as a full-back with the Cork senior team throughout the early 1980s...
as the Cork manager for a two-year term and was immediately charged with the task of guiding the team to a second consecutive All-Ireland title for the 2005 Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2005
The Guinness Hurling Championship 2005 began on Sunday, May 15, 2005. The 2005 championship saw some change with the introduction of a new format whereby after the provincial championships and the two new qualifying groups were completed, eight teams were left to face off in four quarter finals....
.
2005: Munster and All-Ireland success
Allen's appointment as manager brought a level of continuity to the Cork senior hurling set-up. Very little changed with regard to the backroom team and the team virtually picked itself for every match. With Allen at the helm Cork reclaimed their second Munster title in three years with an exciting victory over TipperaryTipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
. In the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
gave Allen's side a fright when they went six points up with just over twenty minutes left to play. Cork fought back and won the game by a single point. It was a wake-up call to a side that had taken winning for granted. The championship decider saw Cork take on Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
, winners of a thrilling semi-final with Kilkenny. On a sun-drenched day Cork defeated the men from the West on a score line of 1-21 to 1-16. It was Cork's second championship title in-a-row and Allen's first as manager.
2006: Munster success, All-Ireland defeat
In 2006All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2006
The Guinness Hurling Championship 2006 was won by Kilkenny, who defeated holders Cork in the All-Ireland final.-Format:The format of the 2006 championship remained the same as in 2005:...
Cork launched an all-out assault on capturing a third consecutive All-Ireland title. Allen's side got off to a good start with a comprehensive win over Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
before later retaining their Munster title following a win over Tipperary. One point wins over Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
and Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
saw Cork reach a fourth successive championship decider. Kilkenny, Cork's arch rivals, provided the opposition once again. It was a repeat of 2004 when Kilkenny were going fof three wins in-a-row, however, Cork stopped them. On this occasion the tables were turned as Kilkenny halted Cork's bid for a three in-a-row, defeating them by 1-16 to 1-13. Shortly after his first defeat in ten games Allen announced, after much speculation, that he was not seeking another term as Cork manager. Allen's selector, Ger Cunningham
Ger Cunningham
Ger Cunningham is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Finbarr's and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1981 until 1998. Cunningham is regarded as one of the greatest hurling goalkeepers of all-time.Cunningham's status as one of Cork's...
, was the early favourite to succeed him, before former Cork player Gerald McCarthy got the position.
Allen still maintains a strong association with the game as a pundit with Spóirt Beo on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
and with a regular column in the Irish Times and Gaelscéal' newspaper.
Managing Limerick
Allen was confirmed as the new LimerickLimerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
senior hurling manager on 11 October 2011 on a two year contract, succeeding Dónal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady
Dónal O'Grady is an Irish former hurler and manager.O'Grady enjoyed a successful playing career as a full-back with the Cork senior team throughout the early 1980s...
.