Denis Heaslip
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Donncha Ó hEislip | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Right wing-forward | ||
| Born |
May 1933 Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, Ireland | ||
| Died |
25 November 2020 (aged 87) Kilkenny, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Occupation | County council employee | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Knocktopher | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Kilkenny titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1956–1964 | Kilkenny | 18 (11–12) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 5 | ||
| All-Irelands | 2 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
Denis Heaslip (May 1933 – 25 November 2020) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.
Born in Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, Heaslip first arrived on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team, making his debut in the 1957 championship. During his career Heaslip won two All-Ireland medals, three Leinster medals and one National Hurling League medal.[1][2] He was an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions.[citation needed]
Heaslip also represented the Leinster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, winning one Railway Cup medal. At club level he played with Knocktopher.[citation needed]
His retirement came following Kilkenny's defeat by Tipperary in the 1964 All-Ireland final.[citation needed]
The 1957 Championship featured in the 1958 film Rooney[3] where the main character in the film wore a Kilkenny Jersey in the line up. During the film it depicts a goal that was "scored" by the main character (Rooney). This was in fact Denis Heaslip's goal.
Playing career[edit]
Kilkenny[edit]
Having never played at minor level, Heaslip first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny junior team during the 1956 Leinster Junior Championship. He ended the provincial campaign with a winners' medal after being one of Kilkenny's top scorers in the 6-11 to 1-08 over Laois in the final. Heaslip scored a hat-trick of goals in the home final defeat of Kerry, before claiming an All-Ireland Junior Championship medal after the 5-02 to 2-08 win over London.
Heaslip's performances for the Kilkenny junior team drew the attention of the senior selectors and he was one of a number of players promoted to the Kilkenny senior team prior to the start of the 1956-57 league. He lined out in all but one of Kilkenny's five league games, including the six-point league final defeat by Tipperary. Heaslip was retained on the Kilkenny panel for the 1957 Leinster Championship and made his debut on 30 June in a 1-11 to 2-08 semi-final draw with Dublin. He ended the campaign with a winners' medal after scoring a goal in the 6-09 to 1-05 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 1 September 1957, Heaslip was again included on the starting fifteen when Kilkenny faced Waterford in the All-Ireland final. He ended the game with his first winners' medal after scoring a point in the 4-10 to 3-12 victory.[4]
Heaslip scored 3-01 from play in Kilkenny's semi-final replay defeat of Dublin in the 1958 Leinster Championship. Injury ruled him out of the Leinster final, however, he claimed a second successive winners' medal as a substitute after the 5-12 to 4-09 win over Wexford.
After returning to the starting fifteen for the 1959 Leinster Championship, Heaslip claimed a third successive provincial winners' medal, his second on the field of play, after the 2-09 to 1-11 victory over Dublin. On 6 September 1959, he played in his second All-Ireland final when Kilkenny drew 1-17 to 5-05 with Waterford. The replay a month later resulted in Heaslip ending on the losing side after the 3-12 to 1-10 defeat.[5]
After failing to make it four successive provincial titles in-a-row after losing out to Wexford in the 1960 Leinster final, Kilkenny failed to even qualify for the following year's final. On 6 May 1962, Heaslip claimed his second national title when Kilkenny defeated Cork by 1-16 to 1-08 to claim the National League title for the first time in 30 years. He was subsequently denied a fourth Leinster Championship medal as Kilkenny suffered a 3-09 to 2-10 defeat by Wexford in the 1962 Leinster final.
Injury ruled Heaslip out of the 1963 Leinster Championship, however, he claimed a fourth provincial winners' medal from the substitutes' bench after the 2-10 to 0-09 defeat of Dublin in the final. On 1 September 1963, he was restored to the starting fifteen at right wing-forward when Kilkenny faced Waterford in the All-Ireland final for the fourth time in seven seasons. Held scoreless over the hour, Heaslip ended the match with a second All-Ireland winners' medal after the 4-17 to 6-08 win.[6]
After collecting a fifth provincial title after coming on as a substitute in the 4-11 to 1-08 defeat of Dublin in the 1964 Leinster final, Heaslip was again listed amongst the substitutes for the subsequent All-Ireland final against Tipperary. In spite of being regarded as the favourites, Kilkenny ended the game as runners-up after a 5-13 to 2-08 defeat by Tipperary.[7] Heaslip retired from inter-county hurling at the end of the 1964 season.
Career statistics[edit]
| Team | Season | National League | Leinster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Kilkenny | 1956-57 | Division 1A | 4 | 2-06 | 2 | 2-01 | 1 | 0-01 | 7 | 4-08 |
| 1957-58 | 5 | 1-08 | 2 | 3-01 | 1 | 0-01 | 8 | 4-10 | ||
| 1958-59 | 4 | 3-06 | 1 | 0-01 | 2 | 1-01 | 7 | 4-08 | ||
| 1959-60 | 4 | 1-03 | 2 | 2-00 | — | 6 | 3-03 | |||
| 1960-61 | 2 | 1-00 | 1 | 0-00 | — | 3 | 1-00 | |||
| 1961-62 | Division 1B | 5 | 11-08 | 2 | 2-02 | — | 7 | 13-10 | ||
| 1962-63 | 4 | 2-03 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | 5 | 2-03 | ||
| 1963-64 | Division 1A | 3 | 0-04 | 2 | 1-03 | 1 | 0-00 | 6 | 1-07 | |
| Career total | 31 | 21-38 | 12 | 10-08 | 6 | 1-03 | 49 | 32-49 | ||
Honours[edit]
- Kilkenny
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (2): 1957, 1963
- Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (5): 1957, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1964
- National Hurling League (1): 1961-62
- All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship (1): 1956
- Leinster Junior Hurling Championship (1): 1956
- Leinster
- Railway Cup (1): 1962
References[edit]
- ^ "Kilkenny GAA profile". Hogan Stand website. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Leinster Senior Hurling Finalists" (PDF). Leinster GAA website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Pollock, George (14 March 1958), Rooney, retrieved 3 February 2016
- ^ "Kilkenny captain who led hurling team to victory in 1957". Irish Times. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Dalton, Eoghan (31 August 2017). "Déise All-Ireland legends reckon Waterford have a chance". Irish Times. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "Kilkenny cause major upset". Irish Times. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ McEvoy, Enda (4 September 2014). "Tipp's old dogs teach Cats lesson". Tipp Supporters Club. Retrieved 7 May 2020.