# Offaly county hurling team

The Offaly county hurling team represents Offaly in hurling and is governed by Offaly GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team plays in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, part of the top tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. At senior level, the county have won four All-Ireland championships, nine Leinster championships and one National Hurling League title.
Offaly's home grounds are Glenisk O'Connor Park, Tullamore and Grant Heating St Brendan's Park, Birr. The team's manager is Johnny Kelly.
The team last won the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 1995, the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1998 and the National Hurling League in 1991.

## History

After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly was one of the first teams to benefit. As a result, the county won six Leinster Senior Hurling Championship titles in the 1980s, as well as its first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981.
The county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final." Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3–16 to 2–13.
In the 1998 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-final, Offaly defeated All-Ireland champions Clare in a second replay. Offaly had lost the first replay after referee Jimmy Cooney blew for full-time too early, leading Offaly fans to blockade the pitch in protest.
Offaly conceded a walkover to Kildare in the 2020 Christy Ring Cup after an outbreak of COVID-19 forced "almost every member" of the panel into isolation due to Health Service Executive (HSE) advice that they were "close contacts". Later in the same competition, in the semi-final, Down knocked Offaly out in a first ever inter-county hurling penalty shootout.
On 8 June 2024, at Croke Park in Dublin, Offaly defeated Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup final by 2–23 to 0–26. This was the first success in this competition and also earned them promotion to the 2025 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.

## Panel

Team as per Offaly vs Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup Final, 08 June 2024
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 1 | Mark Troy | Goalkeeper | Durrow |
| 2 | Ben Conneely | Right corner back | St Rynagh's |
| 3 | Ciarán Burke | Full back | Durrow |
| 4 | Cathal King | Left corner back | Carrig & Riverstown |
| 5 | David King | Right half back | Coolderry |
| 6 | Cillian Keily | Centre back | Kilcormac–Killoughey |
| 7 | Donal Shirley | Left half back | Tubber |
| 8 | Jason Sampson(c) | Midfield | Shinrone |
| 9 | Eimhin Kelly | Midfield | Lusmagh |
| 10 | Killian Sampson | Right half forward | Shinrone |
| 11 | Brian Duignan | Centre forward | Durrow |
| 12 | Eoghan Cahill | Left half forward | Birr |
| 13 | Dan Bourke | Right corner forward | Durrow |
| 14 | Charlie Mitchell | Full forward | Kilcormac–Killoughey |
| 15 | Adam Screeney | Left corner forward | Kilcormac–Killoughey |
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 16 | Stephen Corcoran | Substitute | Coolderry |
| 17 | Oisín Kelly | Substitute | Belmont |
| 18 | Sam Bourke | Substitute | Durrow |
| 19 | Colin Spain | Substitute | Kilcormac–Killoughey |
| 20 | Jack Clancy | Substitute | Belmont |
| 21 | Ross Ravenhill | Substitute | Durrow |
| 22 | Padraig Cantwell | Substitute | Shamrocks |
| 23 | Dara Maher | Substitute | Shinrone |
| 24 | Luke Watkins | Substitute | Shinrone |
| 25 | James Nally | Substitute | Belmont |
| 26 | Kieran Connors | Substitute | Seir Kieran |
$^{INJ}$ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team. $^{RET}$ Player has since retired from the county team. $^{WD}$ Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

## Management team

* Manager: Johnny Kelly, appointed head of the 2023 season
* Selectors: Barry Teehan (Coolderry)
* Performance coach: Brendan Maher (Borris-Ileigh, Tipperary)
* Goalkeeping coach: Colm Callanan (Kinvara, Galway)
* Strength and Conditioning Coach: Brian Roache
* Other backroom: Martin Maher (Brendan's brother)

## Managerial history

Offaly have a history of appointing "foreign" managers. In 2016, the former Waterford hurler Kevin Ryan became Offaly's ninth "foreign" manager in a quarter of a century.
Andy Gallagher 1976–1983
Dermot Healy 1983–1986
Georgie Leahy 1986–1988
P. J. Whelahan 1988–1989
Paudge Mulhare 1989–1990
Pádraig Horan 1990–1992
Éamonn Cregan 1992–1996
John McIntyre 1996–1997
Babs Keating 1997–1998
Michael Bond 1998–1999
Pat Fleury 1999–2000
Michael Bond (2) 2000–2001
Tom Fogarty 2001–2002
Mike McNamara 2002–2004
John McIntyre (2) 2004–2007
Joe Dooley 2007–2011
Ollie Baker 2011–2013
Brian Whelahan 2013–2015
Éamonn Kelly 2015–2016
Kevin Ryan 2016–2017
Kevin Martin 2017–2019
Joachim Kelly 2019**
Michael Fennelly 2019–2022
Johnny Kelly 2022–Present
**=In a caretaker role

## Colours and crest
### Kit evolution
### Team sponsorship

The food company Carroll's of Tullamore sponsored Offaly since the GAA first permitted shirt sponsorship deals in 1991 until 2021. It was the sport's longest running shirt sponsor. In 2022, Glenisk became the County's Camogie, Football and Hurling sponsors, with them becoming the Ladies Football sponsors in 2023 once their current sponsorship with CMG closes.
Professional golfer Shane Lowry and Offaly announced a five-year partnership in April 2021.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| 1991–2021 | O'Neills | Carroll's of Tullamore |
| 2022– | O'Neills | Glenisk |

## Honours
### National

* All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
** Winners (4): 1981, 1985, 1994, 1998
** Runners-up (3): 1984, 1995, 2000
* Joe McDonagh Cup
** Winners (1): 2024
** Runners-up (1): 2023
* Christy Ring Cup
** Winners (1): 2021
* All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship
** Winners (2): 1923, 1929
** Runners-up (1): 1915
* All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship
** Winners (1): 2024
** Runners-up (4): 1989, 1991, 1992, 2023
* National Hurling League
** Winners (1): 1991
** Runners-up (2): 1980–81, 1987–88
* National Hurling League Division 2
** Winners (4): 1966, 1988, 2005, 2009
* National Hurling League Division 2A
** Winners (1): 2021, 2023
* All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship
** Winners (3): 1986, 1987, 1989
** Runners-up (1): 2022

### Provincial

* Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
** Winners (9): 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995
** Runners-up (14): 1901, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1969, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004
* Leinster Junior Hurling Championship
** Winners (7): 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1938, 1953
** Runners-up (4): 1908, 1912, 1937, 1959
* Leinster Under-21/Under-20 Hurling Championship
** Winners (7): 1978, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2023, 2024
** Runners-up (13): 1967, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2016
* Leinster Minor Hurling Championship
** Winners (5): 1986, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2022
** Runners-up (10): 1948, 1950, 1957, 1982, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2020
* Walsh Cup
** Winners (5): 1977, 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994
** Runners-up (5): 1966, 1974, 1987, 1995, 2008
* Walsh Cup Shield
** Winners (2): 2011, 2012
** Runners-up (1): 2009
* Kehoe Cup
** Winners (1): 2020