J. J. Delaney

J. J. Delaney

Personal information
Irish name	J. J. Ó Dúláinne
Sport	Hurling
Position	Full Back
Born	(1982-03-06) 6 March 1982 Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Occupation	Sales rep
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Fenians
Club titles
Kilkenny titles	0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2001-present	Kilkenny	49 (0-1)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles	9
All-Irelands	8
NHL	6
All Stars	6
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 20:04, 25 October 2012.

J. J. Delaney (born 6 March 1982) is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. He joined the team during the 2001 championship and immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen.

Delaney is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. He has won eight All-Ireland winners' medals, ten Leinster winners' medals and six National League winners' medal. He has ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions.

Delaney has a number of personal achievements. He has won five All-Star awards and was included on the GPA Hurling Team of the Year on two occasions. In 2003 he made a clean sweep of all the top individual awards, winning the All-Star, Texaco and GPA Hurler of the Year awards. In 2009 he was chosen on the Leinster team of the past twenty-five years.

At club level Delaney plays with Fenians, one of the top club teams during the seventies, however, during Delaney's playing days the team have failed to reach the summit of club hurling.

Delaney is a member of a prolific hurling dynasty. His uncles, Billy Fitzpatrick and Pat Delaney, won nine All-Ireland medals between them throughout the 1970s and 1980s, while his father, Shem Delaney, shared in one of these All-Ireland successes as a non-playing substitute. His first cousin, P. J. Delaney, won an All-Ireland medal in 1993, while his younger brother, also P. J. Delaney, joined him on the Kilkenny senior team in 2006.

Biography

Born in Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Delaney was educated at the local national school before later attending Coláiste Mhuire. Here his hurling skills were first developed and he tasted early success by capturing two Leinster vocational schools SHC medals. He later studied at the Waterford Institute of Technology where he was a key member of the college hurling team. He captured back-to-back Fitzgibbon Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Delaney currently works as a sales representative for Tegral.

Playing career

Club

Delaney plays his club hurling with the famous Fenians club in Johnstown. He has enjoyed some success with the club at underage levels, beginning with an under-16 north county club medal. Delaney later won both an under-21 north county club medal and an under-21 county club medal. He has yet to win a senior county title with the Fenians.

Minor & under-21

Delaney first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor team in the late 1990s. He lined out in his first provincial final in that grade in 1999, however, the game ended in a 0-13 apiece draw with Wexford. Kilkenny won the replay giving Delaney a Leinster minor medal. ‘The Cats’ were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. After an early exit from the minor championship in 2000 Delaney joined the county under-21 panel. Success was slow in coming in this grade also as Wexford dominated in the early years of the new century. In 2003 Kilkenny defeated Dublin by 0-12 to 1-4 giving Delaney a Leinster title in that grade. He later lined out in the under-21 championship decider with Galway providing the opposition. Kilkenny won that game by 2-13 to 0-12 with Delaney collecting a coveted All-Ireland medal.

Senior

In 2001 Delaney joined the Kilkenny senior team for the first time. He made his debut in the provincial championship and later collected his first senior Leinster medal as Kilkenny completely overpowered Wexford. After such a huge win ‘the Cats’ were hot favourites to retain their All-Ireland title, however, Delaney’s side were outsmarted by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final.

‘The Cats’ bounced back in 2002 with Delaney claiming a first National Hurling League medal. He subsequently claimed a second Leinster medal before later lining out in his first senior All-Ireland final. Clare, who were defeated in the first-round of the Munster championship but had made it to the final via the newly introduced qualifier system, put up a good fight in that game. A combined tally of 2-13 for both Henry Shefflin and D.J. Carey gave Kilkenny a seven-point victory and secured a first senior All-Ireland winners' medal for Delaney.

In 2003 Delaney captured a second National League title before later winning a third consecutive Leinster winners' medal. Kilkenny later faced Cork in an exciting and close All-Ireland final. The Leinstermen never led by more than four points and only secured victory with a late Martin Comerford goal. Delaney won his second All-Ireland medal that day and he was later honoured with an All-Star award.

In 2004 Kilkenny were aiming for an elusive third All-Ireland victory in-a-row. For the first time in seven years, however, Kilkenny failed in their bid to become Leinster champions as a last-gasp Wexford goal ended an almost unprecedented run of success at the semi-final stage. Kilkenny took the scenic route via the qualifiers system, however, after a scare against Clare they still reached the All-Ireland final. For the second year in-a-row Cork provided the opposition on a gloomy and overcast day. The sides were level for much of the game, however, in the final twenty minutes Cork scored nine points without reply and secured the victory. Kilkenny ended the year with no silverware, however, in spite of this Delaney was still presented with a second All-Star award.

Kilkenny were back in form in 2005, with Delaney winning a third National League medal following a huge 3-20 to 0-15 victory over Clare. Kilkenny later defeated Wexford by 0-22 to 1-16 in the provnicial decider, giving Delaney a fourth Leinster winners' medal. While a third successive All-Ireland showdown with Cork seemed likely, Galway defeated Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final in one of the game's of the decade.

In 2006 Delaney captured a fourth National League title following a 3-11 to 0-14 victory over Limerick. Delaney later won his fifth Leinster title following another facile victory over Wexford. In the build-up to the All-Ireland final against Cork, Delaney injured his cruciate ligament while training. It was an injury which forced him to miss the game which Kilkenny went on to win. In spite of missing the game, Delaney’s prowess earned him a third All-Star award.

Initial concerns that he would be absent for most of 2007 proved unfounded, as surgery revealed that 75% of the ligament remained undamaged and intact. He returned to full training early in January of that year and made his return to the Kilkenny side during the National League campaign. After losing the league final, the team moved on and Delaney collected a sixth Leinster medal following another facile victory in the provincial decider. Kilkenny later qualified for the All-Ireland final where, Limerick provided the opposition. Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes. Kilkenny won the game by 2-19 to 1-15. It was Delaney’s third All-Ireland medal on the field of play.

2008 saw Kilkenny launch an all-out attack in an attempt to capture a third All-Ireland title in a row. He collected a seventh Leinster winners' medal after a 5–21 to 0–17 defeat of Wexford in the provincial final, before later lining out in the All-Ireland decider. Waterford provided the opposition, however, Kilkenny recorded a 3–30 to 1–13 victory. It was a fourth All-Ireland winners' medal for Delaney. A fourth All-Star award quickly followed.

Delaney won his fifth National League winners' medal in 2009 following a 4-17 to 2-26 defeat of Tipperary. An eighth Leinster medal quickly followed before Kilkenny set out to make history by becoming the second team in hurling history to win four successive All-Ireland finals. Tipperary were the opponents and, for much of the match, it looked as if they would pull off a shock and deny 'the Cats' the title. Two quick goals in the space of a minute, one from a penalty by Henry Shefflin, sealed a 2–22 to 0–23 victory. It was Delaney's fifth All-Ireland medal.

Delaney added a ninth Leinster winners' medal to his collection in 2010 following a 1-19 to 1-12 defeat of new provincial rivals Galway. Kilkenny faced a number of injury worries going into an historic All-Ireland final, and ultimately failed in their 'drive for five' as Tipperary won by 4-17 to 1-18. In spite of the defeat, Delaney later won a fifth All-Star award.

In 2011, 'the Cats' continued their provincial dominance with Delaney winning a tenth Leinster winners' medal following a defeat of Dublin. Kilkenny later qualified for a sixth consecutive All-Ireland final. For the third year in succession, Delaney's side faced Tipperary; however, on this occasion Kilkenny were slight underdogs going up against the new champions. Kilkenny started quickly and never surrendered the lead in the 2-17 to 1-16 victory. It was Delaney's sixth All-Ireland winners' medal. He was also named as man of the match for his performance in the final.

2012 began well for Kilkenny. A trouncing of old rivals Cork gave Delaney a sixth National League winners' medal. A broken finger ruled him out of the subsequent Leinster final defeat by Galway. Both sides subsequently met in the All-Ireland decider and Galway nearly pulled off a victory courtesy of goals from Joe Canning and Niall Burke. A 2-13 to 0-19 draw was the result, a first drawn All-Ireland final in over half a century. The replay saw Kilkenny claim a 3-22 to 3-11 victory, with Delaney picking up a seventh All-Ireland winners' medal.

Honours

Team awards

Kilkenny

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (8): 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
• Leinster Senior Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (9): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• National Hurling League:
  • Winner (7): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013
  • Runner-up (1): 2007

Individual awards

Kilkenny

• GPA Hurler of the Year:
  • Winner (1): 2003
• Texaco Hurler of the Year:
  • Winner (1): 2003
• All Stars Hurler of the Year:
  • Winner (1): 2003
• All Stars:
  • Winner (6): 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012