Conor McGrath

Conor McGrath (born 29 May 1991) is an Irish hurler who plays as a left corner-forward for the Clare senior team.

Conor McGrath
Personal information
Irish name Conchúir Mac Craith
Sport Hurling
Position Left corner-forward
Born (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991
Ennis, County Clare, Ireland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Occupation Financial auditor
Club(s)
Years Club
2008-
 Cratloe
Club titles
  Football Hurling
Clare titles 2 2
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2011-present
 Clare 19 (6-57)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 0
All-Irelands 1
NHL 1
All Stars 1
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:28, 11 June 2016.

Born in Ennis, County Clare, McGrath was introduced to hurling by his father, a Toomevara native who was heavily involved in hurling coaching. He developed his skills in the Harty Cup with St. Caimin's Community School, while simultaneously becoming involved at underage levels with the Cratloe club. A dual player at the highest level, McGrath has won two championship medals each in both hurling and Gaelic football.

McGrath made his debut on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Clare minor team. After little success in this grade, he later won two All-Ireland medals with the under-21 team. McGrath made his senior debut during the 2011 championship.[1] He has since gone on to play a key role for Clare in attack during a successful era, and has won one All-Ireland medal and one National Hurling League medal.

McGrath attended NUI Galway.[2]

Playing career

Club

In 2009 McGrath was at right corner-forward as Cratloe qualified for their first ever championship decider. Reigning champions Clonlara provided the opposition in what turned out to be a close game. McGrath scored 2-1 in helping Cratloe to a 3-5 to 1-9 victory. It was a first championship medal for McGrath.[3]

McGrath was a key member of the Cratloe senior football team that faced Doonbeg in the 2013 final. A close game developed, however, a 1-0 to 0-7 victory gave McGrath the distinction of being a dual championship medal winner.[4]

2014 was a huge year for McGrath, as the Cratloe hurlers and footballers reached the finals of their respective championships. A 0-14 to 0-6 defeat of Crusheen in the hurling decider gave McGrath, who scored 0-6, a second championship medal.[5] A week later the Cratloe lined out against Éire Óg in the football decider. A 2-12 to 1-11 victory not only saw the team retain the football title they won for the first time the previous year but they were also the first team in Clare in 100 years to win both senior hurling and football titles in the same season.[6]

Inter-county

McGrath first played for Clare as a member of the minor team, however, he enjoyed little success in this grade. He was still eligible for the minor grade when he was drafted onto the under-21 panel in 2009. McGrath won his first Munster medal that year after being introduced as a substitute in Clare's 2-17 to 2-12 defeat of Waterford.[7] On 13 September 2009, Clare faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland decider. A last-gasp Cormac O'Donovan point secured a narrow 0-15 to 0-14 victory.[8] McGrath was introduced as a substitute once again and collected his first All-Ireland medal in what was Clare's first championship title.

Career statistics
As of match played 5 June 2016.
Team Year National League Championship Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Clare 2011 Division 2 63-1321-1184-24
2012 Division 1B 42-3530-1572-50
2013 Division 1A 10-0283-1093-12
2014 73-1531-11104-26
2015 60-1121-0781-18
2016 Division 1B 81-4110-0391-44
Total 329-117196-575115-174

Honours
Cratloe
Clare

Individual
Awards

References
  1. "Clare team named for Munster semi". Irish Examiner. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  2. "NUI Galway Students and Alumni Among All-Ireland Senior Hurling Finalists". 2 September 2013.
  3. "Cratloe claim their first title". Irish Times. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  4. Cormican, Eoghan (18 November 2013). "Cratloe glee as first title secured". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. "Cratloe's hurlers complete their side of a possible dream Clare double". Irish Times. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. "All-conquering Cratloe complete historic Clare double". Irish Times. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  7. O'Toole, Fintan (30 July 2009). "Honan fires Banner to glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  8. O'Toole, Fintan (14 September 2009). "Last-gasp O'Donovan makes it a Clare day at Croker". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
Achievements
Preceded by
Barry Daly
(Galway)		 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Final
winning captain
2012		 Succeeded by
Paul Flanagan
(Clare)
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