# Matthew Whelan (hurler)

Matthew Whelan (born 1 February 1988) is an Irish hurler who plays for Laois Senior Championship club Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton. He is a former member of the Laois senior hurling team.

## Career

Whelan first came to Gaelic games prominence at juvenile and underage levels with the Borris-in-Ossory club, before eventually joining the club's top adult team. After the creation of the new Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton club, he went on to win a County Senior Championship in 2016, having earlier won three intermediate titles. Whelan first played at inter-county level as a dual player with the Laois minor teams. He won a Leinster Minor Championship title in 2005, before winning an All-Ireland Schools' Championship title in 2006. Whelan was straight out of the minor grade when he made his Laois senior hurling team debut in 2007. Over the course of the following 15 seasons, he became a first-team regular and had two spells as team captain, while he also won a Joe McDonagh Cup medal and two National League Division 2 titles. Whelan retired from inter-county hurling on 25 July 2021, having made a record number of appearances for Laois.

## Career statistics

| Team | Year | National League | National League | National League | McDonagh Cup | McDonagh Cup | Leinster | Leinster | All-Ireland | All-Ireland | Total | Total |
| Team | Year | Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score |
| Laois | 2007 | Division 2A | 9 | 1-09 | — | — | 1 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-02 | 13 | 1-11 |
| Laois | 2008 | Division 1B | 5 | 0-01 | — | — | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 5 | 0-01 |
| Laois | 2009 | Division 2 | 7 | 0-00 | — | — | 1 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | 9 | 0-00 |
| Laois | 2010 | Division 2 | 6 | 0-07 | — | — | 2 | 0-05 | 1 | 0-00 | 9 | 0-12 |
| Laois | 2011 | Division 2 | 7 | 0-02 | — | — | 1 | 0-02 | 1 | 0-02 | 9 | 0-06 |
| Laois | 2012 | Division 1B | 6 | 0-03 | — | — | 2 | 0-02 | 1 | 0-00 | 9 | 0-05 |
| Laois | 2013 | Division 2A | 6 | 0-16 | — | — | 3 | 0-07 | 1 | 0-00 | 10 | 0-23 |
| Laois | 2014 | Division 1B | 6 | 0-07 | — | — | 5 | 0-03 | 1 | 0-02 | 12 | 0-12 |
| Laois | 2015 | Division 1B | 4 | 0-00 | — | — | 5 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-01 | 10 | 0-01 |
| Laois | 2016 | Division 1B | 7 | 0-01 | — | — | 1 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-01 | 9 | 0-02 |
| Laois | 2017 | Division 1B | 2 | 0-00 | — | — | 4 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-01 | 8 | 0-01 |
| Laois | 2018 | Division 1B | 6 | 0-00 | 5 | 0-01 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0-01 |
| Laois | 2019 | Division 1B | 6 | 0-00 | 5 | 0-02 | — | — | 2 | 0-00 | 13 | 0-02 |
| Laois | 2020 | Division 1B | 3 | 0-00 | — | — | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-00 |
| Laois | 2021 | Division 1B | 4 | 0-00 | — | — | 1 | 0-01 | 1 | 0-00 | 6 | 0-01 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 84 | 1-46 | 10 | 0-03 | 26 | 0-20 | 16 | 0-09 | 136 | 1-78 |

## Honours
### St Fergal's College

* All-Ireland Senior Vocational Schools' Championship: 2006

### Borris-in-Ossory

* Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship: 2009

### Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton GAA

* Laois Senior Hurling Championship: 2016
* Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship: 2012, 2014

### Laois

* Joe McDonagh Cup: 2019
* National Hurling League Division 2A: 2013
* National Hurling League Division 2: 2007
* Leinster Minor Football Championship: 2005

### Ireland

* Shinty-Hurling International Series: 2015 (c)