Martin Coleman

Martin Coleman (born 1 August 1950) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a golakeeper for the Cork senior team.

Coleman joined the team during the 1970 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1979 championship. During that time he won three All-Ireland medals and five Munster medals.

At club level Coleman enjoyed much success in the junior and intermediate grades with Ballinhassig.

His son, Martin Coleman, Jnr, also played hurling for Cork.

Playing career

Club

Coleman played his club hurling with Ballinhassig and enjoyed much success in a lengthy career.^[1]

Having won the divisional junior title in 1973, Ballinhassig subsequently qualified for the county championship decider. A 1–6 to 0–5 defeat of Meelin gave Coleman a junior championship medal.

After being promoted to the intermediate grade, Ballinhassig reached the championship decider in 1975. A 3–12 to 2–5 defeat of PassageWest gave Coleman his first intermediate championship medal.

Two years later in 1977 Coleman lined out in his second intermediate championship decider. A 1–16 to 1–11 defeat of Ballyhea on that occasion gave him a second intermediate championship medal.

Minor and under-21

Coleman first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1967. He made his debut when he came on as a substitute in a Munster quarter-final defeat of Waterford. He remained on the substitutes' bench for the rest of the championship as Cork went on to claim both the Munster and All-Ireland crowns.

In 1968 Coleman too over as first-choice 'keeper with the Cork minor team. He won his first Munster medal on the field of play that year following a high-scoring 7–8 to 5–4 defeat of Waterford. For the third successive year Wexford provided the opposition in the All-Ireland decider and went on to claim a 2–13 to 3–7 victory.

Two years later in 1970 Coleman joined the Cork under-21 hurling team. He won a Munster medal in that grade that year following a 3–11 to 2–7 defeat of Tipperary. Cork faced their old rivals Wexford in the subsequent All-Ireland decider, however, that game ended in a draw. In the replay Cork went into overdrive and Coleman won an All-Ireland medal following a 5–17 to 0–8 thrashing.

Coleman was eligible for the under-21 grade once again in 1971, and added a second Munster medal to his collection as Tipp were downed once again. Wexford stood in the way of Cork securing a second successive championship and a high-scoring game ensued. A 7–8 to 1–11 victory gave Coleman his second All-Ireland medal.

Senior

Coleman made his senior championship debut in 1970 in an All-Ireland semi-final defeat of London. He was back on the substitutes' bench later that year as Cork claimed the All-Ireland title.^[2]

Following Paddy Barry's retirement from inter-county hurling, Coleman became Cork's first-choice custodian in 1975. That year he won his first Munster medal on the field of play following a 3–14 to 0–12 defeat of reigning provincial champions Limerick.

1976 saw Coleman win a second Munster medal as Limerick were bested once again. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork face old rivals Wexford. In one of the worst starts to a championship decider, Cork were 2–2 to no score in arrears after just six minutes. The Rebels fought back to level matters by half-time, however, it was the long-range point-scoring by Pat Moylan that turned the game for Cork. A 2–21 to 4–11 victory gave Coleman his first All-Ireland medal on the field of play.

Coleman was still Cork's number one in 1977. A 4–15 to 4–10 defeat of newly crowned National League champions Clare gave him a third Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider was a repeat of the previous year as Wexford stood in the way of a second successive title. Seánie O'Leary played the game with a broken nose after being hit in the face by a sliotar in a pre-match warm-up while the two oldest men on the team, Denis Coughlan and Gerald McCarthy, gave noteworthy displays. Coleman made some miraculous saves in the dying minutes as Cork held on for a 1–17 to 3–8 victory. It was his second All-Ireland medal.

In 1978 Cork set out to secure an impressive third successive All-Ireland title. The team go off to a good start with Coleman keeping a clean sheet in a 0–13 to 0–11 defeat of Clare in a dour provincial decider. It was his fourth Munster medal. This victory paved the way for Cork to take on Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The stakes were high as Cork were attempting to capture a first three in-a-row since 1954. The game, however, was not the classic that many expected. Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes and a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1–15 to 2–8 victory over their age-old rivals.^[3][4] This victory gave Cork a third All-Ireland title in succession and gave Coleman his third All-Ireland medal.

The following year Cork set about capturing a record-equaling fourth successive All-Ireland. All went to plan as the Rebels secured a fifth consecutive provincial title following a 2–14 to 0–9 defeat of Limerick. It was Coleman's fifth and final Munster medal. Age and the exertions of the three previous campaigns finally caught up with Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and a 2–14 to 1–13 defeat by Galway brought the four-in-a-row dream to an end.^[5] Coleman retired from inter-county hurling following this defeat.

Inter-provincial

Coleman also had the honour of being selected for Munster in the inter-provincial series of games. He made his debut with the province in 1975 and was a regular until his retirement in 1978.^[6]

During that time Coleman failed to break onto the starting fifteen, however, defeats of Leinster and Connacht in 1976 and 1978 respectively gave him two Railway Cup medals as a non-playing sub.

Post-playing career

In retirement from hurling Coleman remained closely involved in the game. He served as a selector at senior and under-21 levels with Cork from 1990 until 2002 and saw his native-county win several All-Ireland titles during that period.

Honours

Team

Ballinhassig

• Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship (2): 1975, 1977
• Cork Junior Hurling Championship (1): 1973

Cork

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (4): 1970 (sub), 1976, 1977, 1978
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (7): 1970 (sub), 1972 (sub), 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (c)
• National Hurling League (3): 1971–72 (sub), 1973–74 (sub)
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1970, 1971
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1970, 1971
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1967 (sub)
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1967 (sub), 1968

Munster

• Railway Cup (2): 1976'(sub), 1978 (sub)

References