Eudie Coughlan
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Half-forward | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Blackrock | |||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1920s-1930s | Cork | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 1 | ||
| All-Irelands | 4 | ||
Eugene 'Eudie' Coughlan was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s.
Early life
Eugene 'Eudie' Coughlan (pronounced Cawlan)(1900-1987) was born in Blackrock, just outside Cork in 1900. He was educated locally and later worked as a fisherman with his father, before working with Ford and the Cork Harbour Board. The Coughlan’s were a famous hurling family in Cork. Eudie’s father, Pat Coughlan, won senior All-Ireland medals in 1893 and 1894 and was regarded as one of the great defenders of his era. His four brothers also claimed six All-Ireland medals between them at the turn of the 20th century.
Playing career
Club
Coughlan played his club hurling with the famous Blackrock club and enjoyed much success. He won his first senior county title in 1920 and added a further six to his collection in 1924, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1930 and 1931. This last victory was ‘the Rockies’ last county medal for twenty-five years.
Inter-county
Coughlan first came to the attention of the Cork hurling selectors in 1919 when Blackrock played a Cork selection in a game in aid of Republican prisoners. Later that same year he was a substitute on the Cork team that defeated Dublin to win the All-Ireland final. The following year Coughlan was still a sub when Cork won the Munster title, however, the side were later defeated by Dublin in the All-Ireland final.
By 1926 Coughlan was a full member of the team when Cork won the very first National Hurling League title and he later won his first Munster title on the field of play. Cork subsequently defeated Kilkenny at a snow-covered Croke Park in the championship decider and Coughlan won his first All-Ireland medal along with his brother, John, who was the goalkeeper. In 1927 Coughlan won his second Munster medal, however, Cork were subsequently defeated by Dublin in the All-Ireland final. Cork continued their provincial dominance in 1928 with Coughlan collecting his third Munster medal. He later collected his second All-Ireland medal following Cork’s defeat of Galway in the final. A fourth Munster title was won by Coughlan in 1929 and this was later converted into a third All-Ireland medal following a second consecutive defeat of Galway in the championship decider.
In 1930 Coughlan was appointed captain of the Cork senior hurling team. That year he lead his native-county to a second-ever National League title, however, Cork failed to win a fifth consecutive Munster title. In 1931 Coughlan was still captain as he collected his fifth Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final against Kilkenny had to be replayed twice, with Coughlan, playing a captains role, scoring a point from his knees to level the first game. He gave his best-ever performance in the third game of the series when he won his fourth All-Ireland medal, however, it turned out to be his last game for Cork. At the beginning of 1932 Coughlan took umbrage at the actions of the Cork County Board in taking from his club, Blackrock, the selection of the Cork senior hurling team for the upcoming year. Coughlan, although in line to retain the captaincy, retired from inter-county hurling in protest at the relatively young age of 31. His other honours include three Railway Cup medals with Munster.
Retirement
In retirement from the game Coughlan came to be recognised as one of the greatest players of all-time. In 1961 he was selected, by popular opinion, as a wing-forward on a Gael-Linn sponsored “Best Ever Team”. At the 1984 All-Ireland Hurling Final he received a great welcome when he was presented to the crowd during the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Gaelic Athletic Association. At the time Coughlan, who was in his 85th year, was the oldest-living captain of an All-Ireland-winning senior hurling team. Just before the game he was presented to the crowd along with such hurling greats as Jack Lynch, Eddie Keher and Jimmy Doyle. The following year Coughlan was presented with the prestigious GAA All-Time All-Star Award.
Cughlan died shortly after in the mid-1980s.