Martin Coogan (hurler)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Máirtín Ó Cuagáin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Half-back | ||
| Born | Castlecomer, County Kilkenny | ||
| Nickname | "Coogan" | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Erin's Own | |||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1961-1973 | Kilkenny | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 7 | ||
| All-Irelands | 4 | ||
| All Stars | 1 | ||
Martin Coogan (born 1940) is a former Irish sports person. He played hurling with his local club Erin's Own and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1961 until 1973.
Playing career
Inter-county
Coogan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling team in 1961. The following year he tasted his first major success when he won a National Hurling League medal with his county. the 1962 National Hurling League title was Kilkenny’s first since 1933.
In 1963 Coogan won his first Leinster title. that same year he played in his first All-Ireland final at Croke Park. Waterford provided the opposition on that occasion, however, Eddie Keher's tally of fourteen points guaranteed a victory for Kilkenny and a first All-Ireland medal for Coogan.
In 1964 Coogan won a second Leinster title following another huge win over Dublin. Tipperary provided the opposition in 1964's the All-Ireland final, however, in spite of Kilkenny being the pundits’ favourites the men from Munster completely overpowered Coogan's side on a score line of 5-13 to 2-8.
The following year Kilkenny continued their provincial dominance with Coogan picking up a fourth Leinster title before lining out in a fourth All-Ireland final at Croke Park. Tipperary were Kilkenny's opponents on the day. That day‘the Cats’ had goals at vital times from Paddy Moran, Martin Brennan and Tom Walsh to lay to rest a Tipperary bogey that had lasted since 1922. Kilkenny won with a score of 3-8 to Tipperary's 2-7. Coogan collected his second All-Ireland medal.[1]
.
Provincial
Coogan also won a Railway Cup medal with Leinster in 1967.
Criminal conviction
In June 1996, Coogan was convicted of indecent assault on two young girls and sentenced to four years in jail. The former player, a father-of-two, was found guilty of indecently assaulting a 10-year-old girl nine years previously. He also pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl 12 years previously. His appeals of his sentence were unsuccessful.[2]
References
- ^ "Kilkenny topped Tipp before with Ollie at the helm". The Advertiser. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "Sex abuse GAA star in new bid for freedom". Independent.ie. 22 January 1998.