Ciarán Carey
 |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Ciarán Ó Ciara | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Height | 6' | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Patrickswell | |||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1989-2004 | Limerick | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 3 | ||
Ciarán Carey (born 16 January, 1970) is an Irish sportsman. He played hurling with his local club Patrickswell and with the Limerick senior inter-county team from 1989 until 2004. He is widely regarded as one of Limerick’s greatest-ever players and as one of the finest players never to win a senior All-Ireland medal. Carey is currently the manager of the Limerick U21 hurling team.
Early life
Ciarán Carey was born in Patrickswell, County Limerick in 1970. He was educated locally and from an early age he showed a great interest in the game of hurling. Carey later worked as a sales representative for O’Dwyer Oil in Pallasgreen, County Limerick.
Playing career
Club
Carey played his club hurling with his local Patrickswell team. He enjoyed much success at underage level, winning a minor county medal. In 1987 he won his first senior county championship medal as a goalkeeper. Carey won a second county title in 1988, which was subsequently converted into a Munster club title. Two years later in 1990 Carey won another brace of county and Munster medals. For the rest of the 1990s Patrickswell became the dominant hurling club in Limerick, with Carey winning further medals in 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997. He claimed his eighth and ninth county medals in 2000 and 2003.
Inter-county
By the mid-1980s Carey had come to the attention of the Limerick inter-county selectors. He made his senior championship debut in 1989, however, success was slow in coming. In 1992 the Limerick hurlers made their intentions known when they won the National Hurling League title. Carey finished off the year by winning his very first All-Star award. Two years later in 1994 Carey won his first Munster title and Limerick later qualified to meet Offaly in the All-Ireland final. With five minutes left in the game Carey’s side were leading by five points, however, Offaly went on a scoring spree and notched up two goals and five points in the remaining time to win the game. In spite of this defeat Carey’s championship performance was honoured when he won a second All-Star.
Two years later in 1996 Limerick played the reigning All-Ireland champions Clare in the first-round of the Munster championship. The scores were level for much of the game, however, in injury time Carey caught a puck-out, ran 50 yards with the ball and scored the winning point for Limerick. This score has been described as one of the greatest match-winners of all-time. Limerick later won the Munster championship for a second time in three years before later qualifying for an All-Ireland final meeting with Wexford. In spite of Wexford being reduced to fourteen men, Limerick still lost another All-Ireland final, and in spite of that loss, Carey was still presented with a third All-Star award.
Carey won another National League medal in 1997, however, the following years proved difficult for the Limerick hurlers as success eluded them. He withdrew from hurling for the championship in 2000, but returned in 2001. Limerick came close to creating some upsets in the Munster and All-Ireland championships, however, Carey retired without further success in 2004.
Post-playing career
In 2007, Carey was appointed manager of the Limerick senior camogie team. He led them to a Gala All Ireland Senior ‘B’ Final in which they overcame Cork. After a successful year with the camogie team, Carey was appointed the Limerick under 21 hurling manager.