Martin Codd

Martin Codd 1929-2 May 2008 in Rathnure, County Wexford) is a retired Irish sportsperson turned singer and most recently author. He played hurling with his local club Rathnure and with the Wexford senior inter-county team from 1949 until 1965. Trading the ash for the microphone he toured both Ireland and England in the late sixties and early seventies with his Showband "Martin Codd and the Herdsmen". Two records were cut in the late nineties which included "Cuchulainn's Son" a song written by Tom Williams by way of tribute to Nicky Rackard and "Bobby" written by Martin himself in memory of his great friend and Nicky's brother Bobby Rackard. 2006 saw the publication of "The Way I saw it. Nicky Rackard leads wexford to Hurling Glory" written by Martin himself which chronicles the path of the wexford Hurling team he was part of in the 1950's.

Playing career

Club

Codd played his club hurling with the famous Rathnure club in County Wexford and enjoyed much success. He won senior county titles in 1950, 1955 and 1961.

Inter-county

Codd first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Wexford senior team in the late 1940s. He made his debut in 1949, however, he found it hard to command a regular place on the team. Codd’s first major success came in 1956 when he won his only Leinster title following a victory over great rivals Kilkenny. Wexford later faced Cork in one of the most famous All-Ireland finals of all-time. On that occasion Wexford were hoping to capture a second consecutive All-Ireland title while Cork’s Christy Ring was attempting to win his ninth All-Ireland medal. Both sides were on level pegging for much of the game, however, a famous save by Wexford’s Art Foley denied Ring a goal. The sliothar was moved quickly up the field where Nicky Rackard captured the winning goal for Wexford. The game ended on a score line of 2-14 to 2-8 and Codd had captured a coveted All-Ireland medal.

Codd continued to line out with Wexford until 1965.