Frank Cummins (Kilkenny hurler)

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Frank Cummins (born 9 November 1947) is an Irish former hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Kilkenny county team.^[1][2]

Born in

Throughout his career Cummins made 49 championship appearances.[5] His retirement came following Kilkenny's defeat in the 1985 championship.

Cummins is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game.^[6] Throughout his career he won four All-Star awards as well as Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1983. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at midfield on the Kilkenny Hurling Team of the Century in 2000.

Early life

Frank Cummins was born in Knocktopher, County Kilkenny in 1947. He was educated locally at Stoneyford national school where he first started playing hurling at the age of five. He later attended Belcamp College in Dublin where he played both hurling and football. The football team reached the All-Ireland Colleges final in 1965, however, Cummins’ side lost out.

Playing career

Club

Cummins first played hurling at junior level with his local club in

By this stage he had already joined the Kilkenny senior hurling team, making his debut in an Oireachtas game in 1966. The following year he was a non-playing substitute as Kilkenny captured both Leinster and All-Ireland honours, however, it wasn't until 1969 that Cummins found a regular place on the team at midfield. That year he missed 'the Cats' Leinster final triumph over Offaly, however, he later lined out in his first All-Ireland final appearance. Cork faced Kilkenny in that game and revenge for the defeat in 1966 was foremost in the minds of the Kilkenny team. For a while it looked as if the Leesiders would triumph over their great rivals once again, however, five points from Kilkenny in the last seven minutes gave the Noresiders the victory and gave Cummins a first All-Ireland medal.

While Cummins had already captured an All-Ireland medal the best was yet to come for the Kilkenny team in the 1970s. 1971 saw Cummins capture a second provincial medal as Kilkenny began to assert their dominance over near rivals

In 1972 Cummins won a third Leinster title following a victory over Wexford in a replay of the provincial final. Once again, fierce rivals Cork provided the opposition in the All-Ireland final, a game which is often considered to be one of the greatest games of the modern era. Halfway through the second-half Cork were on form and stretched their lead to eight points. Drastic action was required for Kilkenny. One of the most abiding memories of that game is of Cummins collecting the sliothar in his own midfield area before making a magnificent solo-run all the way towards the Cork goal before firing a shot past goalkeeper

In 1973 the Leinster Championship posed little difficulty for Kilkenny and Cummins collected a fourth provincial medal before making his fourth All-Ireland final appearance. For the first time since 1940 Kilkenny would play Limerick in the championship decider. Cummins’ side, as the reigning champions, were credited as the favourites to win, however, a goal from Mossie Dowling and a rampant attack spearheaded by Richie Bennis saw victory go to Limerick on a score line of 1-21 to 1-14. Wexford were once again narrowly defeated by Kilkenny in the 1974 Leinster final, giving Cummins a fifth provincial title. In a repeat of the previous year Limerick provided the opposition, however, revenge was foremost in the minds of Kilkenny supporters. The Munster champions stormed to a five-point lead in the first 11 minutes, however, a converted penalty by Eddie Keher, supplemented by two further goals gave Kilkenny a twelve-point win and gave Cummins a third All-Ireland medal. In 1975 Kilkenny defeated Wexford for the fifth consecutive year in the provincial final, giving Cummins a fifth Leinster medal in-a-row. It was his sixth Leinster title overall. Cummins later lined out in yet another All-Ireland final with surprise semi-final winners Galway providing the opposition on this occasion. The men from the West led by three points at half-time, however, Eddie Keher's huge tally of 2 goals and 7 points kept Galway at bay giving Kilkenny a 2-22 to 2-10 victory and giving Cummins a fourth All-Ireland medal. The following year he won his first National Hurling League title, however, Wexford finally triumphed over their Leinster rivals in the provincial finals of 1976 and 1977. Kilkenny bounced back in 1978 with Cummins adding a seventh Leinster medal to his ever-growing collection. ‘The Cats’ later faced Cork in the All-Ireland final, however, Cummins’ ended up on the losing side that day as Cork completed the final leg of a famous three-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles. The following year Cummins won an eighth Leinster title before lining out in his eighth All-Ireland final appearance. For the second time in five years Galway provided the opposition in the championship decider, however, Cummins’ collected a fifth winners’ medal that day as victory went to Kilkenny in the worst All-Ireland final of the decade.

Offaly emerged as the new Leinster champions in 1980 and 1981, however, by 1982 Kilkenny were back with a bang. Cummins started the year by collecting his second National League medal before later winning a ninth Leinster title. Once again, the age-old rivals of Cork and Kilkenny squared up to each other in the championship decider. The game turned out to be a let-down as Cork were completely overpowered by Kilkenny on that occasion. The final score was 3-18 to 1-15, meaning that Cummins had captured a sixth All-Ireland medal. In 1983 he added a third National League medal to his collection before winning his tenth, and final, Leinster title. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a repeat of the previous year with the result remaining the same. Kilkenny defeated Cork once again, albeit in a much closer game. The victory gave Cummins a seventh All-Ireland medal, and a record eighth overall. It is a record he shares with John Doyle and Christy Ring, however, all of their medals were won on the field of play. In spite of this no other player except Cummins has won seven All-Ireland medals in one single position on the field of play. His performance in 1983 also earned him the Texaco Hurler of the Year award. Wexford put an end to Kilkenny's hopes of capturing a third All-Ireland title in-a-row in 1984, a defeat which led to Cummins’ retirement from inter-county hurling.

Province

Cummins was also a regular player with the