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Dr. Eamon O'Shea (born 1958) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right wing-forward at senior level for the Tipperary and Dublin county teams.

O'Shea began his senior career during the 1979 championship and was a regular player on the inter-county scene until his retirement after the 1986 championship. During that time he won one National Hurling League winners' medal.

At club level O'Shea is an All-Ireland medalist with Kilruane MacDonagh's. In addition to this he has also won one Munster and four county club championship medals.

A former coach of the Tipperary senior hurling team, O'Shea was appointed manager of the team in September 2012.

O'Shea is currently based in Galway and works as the head of Economics at NUI Galway.

Playing career

Club

O'Shea enjoyed a hugely successful career with the Kilruane MacDonagh's club.

He was just out of the minor grade in 1977 when he captured his first championship medal at senior level following a 1–5 to 0–5 defeat of Borris-Ileigh in a replay. It was the first of three county championship winners' medal in succession for O'Shea. Four-in-a-row proved beyond the club as Roscrea won by a single point in the 1980 championship decider.

After a brief absence Kilruane MacDonagh's returned to the summit of Tipperary hurling again in 1986. A 2–11 to 0–10 defeat of Roscrea gave O'Shea his fourth championship medal. He subsequently added a Munster winners' medal to his collection following a draw and a replay victory over Blackrock. An All-Ireland final appearance for the club soon followed, with Buffers Alley providing the opposition. Kilruane fought back and overwhelmed the Wexford side in the final quarter to claim a 1–15 to 2–10 victory and give O'Shea an All-Ireland club winners' medal.

Inter-county

O'Shea's inter-county career began in 1976 when he joined the Tipperary minor hurling panel. He won a Munster medal in this grade in his debut year following a 5–10 to 5–6 defeat of Limerick. This provincial success was later converted into an All-Ireland success following a 2–20 to 1–7 trouncing of Kilkenny.

O'Shea later moved onto the Tipperary under-21 team. He won a Munster medal in this grade in 1978, however, All-Ireland success eluded Tipp that year.

In 1979 O'Shea was in his final year with the under-21 team. He added a second Munster medal to his collection that year before later claiming an All-Ireland medal following a 2–12 to 1–9 defeat of Galway.

By this stage O'Shea had already joined the Tipperary senior hurling team. He won a National Hurling League medal during the 1978–79 season following a 3–15 to 0–8 trouncing of Galway in the decider.

The rest of O'Shea's inter-county career coincided with a barren spell for Tipperary's senior team. He joined the Dublin team for two unsuccessful seasons in 1984 and 1985, however, he finished his career with Tipperary following the 1986 championship.

Management career

Coach

When Liam Sheedy was appointed manager of the Tipperary senior team in 2007 O'Shea joined his backroom team as coach. During his three-year tenure Tipperary returned to the big time. In his first season, he coached the team to National League and Munster titles.

Under Sheedy and O'Shea Tipperary retained their Munster crown in 2009 before later lining out in the All-Ireland decider. On that occasion Tipperary put up a good fight, however, Kilkenny retained their title for a record-breaking fourth year in succession.

In 2010 Tipperary surrendered their Munster crown, however, they still reached the All-Ireland final via the back-door. Another exciting game with Kilkenny developed, however, on this occasion Tipp denied 'the Cats' their "drive-for-five" with a 4–17 to 1–18 victory. Following this win against Kilkenny Sheedy and his management team, including O'Shea, stepped down from their positions.

Manager

On 25 September 2012 O'Shea succeeded Declan Ryan as manager of the Tipperary senior team. His first game in charge was on 6 January 2013 in a 3–23 to 2–15 against UCC in a challenge match. In February he guided Tipperary to the final of the 2013 Waterford Crystal Cup against Clare, with Clare winning by 1–21 to 1–13. In April 2013, Tipperary reached the final of the 2013 National Hurling League where they were defeated 2–17 to 0–20 by Kilkenny in Nowlan Park on 5 May.

His first Championship game came against Limerick on 9 June 2013, where Tipperary were defeated 1–18 to 1–15 at the Gaelic Grounds. In phase 2 of the All-Ireland qualifiers on 6 July 2013, Tipperary were eliminated from the championship after a 1–14 to 0–20 defeat to Kilkenny at Nowlan Park. In October 2013, O'Shea was given another two years as Tipperary senior hurling manager after a county board meeting. In February 2014, Tipperary won the 2014 Waterford Crystal Cup after a 4–22 to 3–11 win against Clare. In August 2014, Tipperary qualified for the 2014 All-Ireland Final after a ten-point win against Cork in Croke Park. The final against Kilkenny finished in a draw with Kilkenny winning the replay on 27 September on a 2–17 to 2–14 scoreline.

In October 2014, O'Shea confirmed that he would stay on for a third and final year as Tipperary manager. On 21 June 2015, O'Shea recorded his first Munster Senior Hurling Championship win as manager as Tipperary defeated Limerick in the Munster semi-final on a 4-23 to 1-16 scoreline. O'Shea won his first Munster Senior title with Tipperary on 12 July 2015, as they defeated Waterford in the Munster Final.

On 16 August 2015, Tipperary lost to Galway by a point in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. The match was O'Shea's last game as Tipperary manager as he had planned to leave the position at the end of the 2015 Championship.

Managerial statistics

References

1. O'Connor, Christy (14 August 2015). "Eamon O'Shea determined to lead Tipp to the All-Ireland they crave". independent.ie. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
2. "Profile: Eamon O'Shea". Tipp GAA archive website. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
3. "Tipp GAA profile". Hogan Stand website. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
4. "Eamon O'Shea succeeds Declan Ryan as Tipperary hurling manager". RTÉ Sport. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
5. "Veterans Tipp-ed to stay as O'Shea takes Premier post". Herald. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
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7. "All-Ireland Glory". Kilruane MacDonagh's GAA website. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
8. "Munster Minor Hurling Teams". Munster GAA website. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
9. "Munster Under-21 Hurling Teams". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
10. "Galway 3–16 Tipperary 3–18". RTÉ Sport. 20 April 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
11. "Cork 1–13 Tipperary 1–19". RTÉ Sport. 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
12. Breheny, Martin (7 September 2009). "Kilkenny cement their greatness". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
13. Breheny, Martin (6 September 2010). "Rampant Tipp deny Cats immortality". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
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16. "Tipperary to test mettle against Offaly and Dublin". Irish Independent. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
17. "Clare 1–21 Tipperary 1–13". GAA.ie. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
18. "Waterford Crystal final on Saturday". Hogan Stand. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
19. "Clare 1–21 Tipperary 1–13". thescore.ie. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
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21. "Limerick 1–18 Tipperary 1–15". RTÉ Sport. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
22. "Kilkenny 0–20 Tipperary 1–14". Munster GAA. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
23. "O'Shea gets green light to stay in Premier hot seat for two more years". Irish Independent. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
24. "Tipp hurling boss set for two more years at the reigns". Irish Examiner. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
25. "Match Reports". Munster GAA. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
26. "Publish a major report into dementia and prepare for All-Ireland final – All in a week's work for Eamon O'Shea". Irish Independent. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
27. "Cats prove to have unmatched appetite for major honours". Irish Independent. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
28. "O'Shea to continue in Premier County hot-seat". Irish Examiner. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
29. "Munster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final: Limerick 1-16 Tipperary 4-23". GAA.ie. 21 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
30. "Munster SHC final: Tipp turn the screw in second-half". Hogan Stand. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
31. "Eamon O'Shea: Tipperary will certainly get what they deserve - an All Ireland". Irish Independent. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
32. "Tipp pay tribute to outgoing Eamon O'Shea's 'energy, passion, dedication, honesty and integrity'". Irish Independent. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

• 1958 births
• Living people
• Academics of the University of Galway
• Hurling managers
• Hurling selectors
• Kilruane MacDonaghs hurlers
• People from Cloughjordan
• Tipperary inter-county hurlers
• Dublin inter-county hurlers
• 20th-century Irish sportsmen