From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dick O’Hara (born 1957) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Thomastown and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. He is regarded as one of Kilkenny’s greatest-ever players.[citation needed]
[edit] Playing career
O’Hara played his club hurling with his local Thomastown club. He enjoyed some success with the club, however, he never won a senior county title.
[edit] Inter-county
O’Hara first came to prominence as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling in the mid-1970s. In 1973 he won his first Leinster minor title before subsequently claiming an All-Ireland medal following a victory over Galway. O’Hara won a second Leinster minor medal in 1974, however, Kilkenny lost out in the championship decider to Cork. A third Leinster minor title came O’Hara’s way in 1975, and he later converted this into a second All-Ireland medal. O’Hara quickly joined the Kilkenny under-21 team where he won both Leinster and All-Ireland honours in 1975. He won a second Leinster under-21 title in 1976, however, his side were defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final. O’Hara’s great run of success continued in 1977 when he won a second set pf provincial and All-Ireland honours at under-21 level.
Following these successes O’Hara joined the Kilkenny senior team. He won his first senior Leinster title in 1978, however, his side were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final. 1979 saw O’Hara picking up a second Leinster title before later qualifying for his second senior All-Ireland final appearance. On that occasion Kilkenny defeated Galway in one of the least exciting championship deciders of the decade. As a result O’Hara collected his first senior All-Ireland medal. Offaly dominated the Leinster Championship for the next few years, however, O’Hara’s bounced back in 1982 to win the National Hurling League. O’Hara later collected a third provincial medal before winning his second All-Ireland medal following a defeat of Cork in the final. Kilkenny dominated again in 1983 with O’Hara winning a second National League medal. He subsequently added a fourth provincial medal to his collection before winning a third All-Ireland medal following a second consecutive defeat of Cork in the final. His performance throughout the entire championship earned O’Hara his sole All-Star award.
O’Hara retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.
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Kilkenny - All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions 1979 (21st title) |
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Kilkenny - All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions 1982 (22nd title) |
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Kilkenny - All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions 1983 (23rd title) |
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KIlkenny Hurling Team of the Century (2000) |
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