John Connolly

Who is John Connolly?

John Connolly is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-forward for the Galway senior team.

Born in Leitir Móir, County Galway, Connolly first excelled at hurling whilst at school in St. Mary's College, Galway. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Galway minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut in the 1967 championship. Connolly went on to play a key role for Galway for more than a decade, and won one All-Ireland medal and one National Hurling League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions.

As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team at various times, Connolly won one Railway Cup medal in 1980. At club level he is a one-time All-Ireland medallist with Castlegar. In addition to this he also won four Connacht medals and six championship medals.

Throughout his career Connolly made 26 championship appearances for Galway. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1981 championship.

Connolly is widely regarded as one of Galway's greatest-ever hurlers. He has often been voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at left full-forward on the Galway Hurling Team of the Millennium.