Mick Kennefick

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mick Kennefick" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Michael Kennefick (14 July 1924 – 20 December 1984) was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-forward at senior level for the Cork county team.

Kennefick joined the team during the

His father, Dan Kennefick, also played hurling for Cork.

Playing career

Club

Kennefick played his club hurling with St Finbarr's and had much success.^[1]

He first played for the famous "Barr's" club in the minor grade and collected three successive championship medals in that grade between 1939 and 1941.

In 1942 Kennefick played in his first senior county final with "the Barr's".

Both St Finbarr's and Ballincollig met in the championship decider again the following year. A 3–3 apiece draw, thanks to a late goal by Seán Condon, was the result on that occasion; however, St Finbarr's made no mistake in the replay and powered to a 7–9 to 1–1 victory. It was Kennefick's second and final championship medal.

Inter-county

Kennefick first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in 1941. He won a Munster medal that year following a 4–6 to 3–3 defeat of Tipperary. Kennefick later lined out in the All-Ireland decider against Kilkenny. A 5–2 to 2–2 score line gave Cork the victory and gave Kennefick an All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship medal.

In 1942 Kennefick made his senior championship debut in a Munster semi-final defeat of Limerick. He won his first Munster that year as Tipp were downed by 4–15 to 4–1 in the subsequent provincial decider. The All-Ireland final was a replay of the previous year with Dublin providing the opposition once again. The game was a close affair with just a point separating the sides at the three-quarter stage. In the end Cork won comfortably enough by 2–14 to 3–4 and Kennefick collected his first All-Ireland medal.

Kennefick was just eighteen-years-old when he was appointed captain of the Cork team in 1943. A 2–13 to 3–8 defeat of Waterford that year gave him a second Munster medal. He later lined out in a second All-Ireland decider with Antrim becoming the first Ulster side to qualify for a final. Unfortunately, the occasion got to the Glensmen as Cork built up an unassailable 3–11 to 0–2 half-time lead. The final score of 5–16 to 0–4 gave Cork their second-ever hat-trick of All-Ireland titles while it also gave Kennefick a third All-Ireland medal and the honour of collecting the Liam MacCarthy Cup.^[2]

By this stage Kennefick had come to be regarded as something of a teenage prodigy, however, his story is one of a great "might-have-been". In the first-round of the 1944 Munster series of games Kennefick's wrist was broken by Tipperary player James Ryan. The injury proved detrimental to his career as Kennefick never played for Cork again.

Inter-provincial

Kennefick also had the honour of being selected for

• Cork Minor Club Hurling Championship (3): 1939, 1940, 1941
• Cork Senior Club Hurling Championship
  (2): 1942, 1943

Cork

• 1943
  (c)
• 1944
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1941
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1941

Munster

• Railway Cup
  (1): 1943

As a coach

St Finbarr's

• All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship (1): 1975
• Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (1): 1974
• Cork Senior Club Hurling Championship
  (1): 1974

References