Jimmy Doyle

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Jimmy Doyle
irish = Séamus Ó Dúil
fullname = James Doyle
placeofbirth = Thurles
countryofbirth = County Tipperary
dob = 1939
height =
nickname = Jimmy
county = Tipperary
province = Munster
club = Thurles Sarsfields
clposition = Forward
clubs = Thurles Sarsfields
clyears = 1956-1975
clapps(points) =
clcounty = 10
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Tipperary
icposition = Half-forward
icyears = 1957-1973
icapps(points) = 39 (18-176)
icprovince = 9
icallireland = 6
allstars = 3 Cú Chulainn Awards
clupdate =
icupdate =

James 'Jimmy' Doyle (born 1939), is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the famous Thurles Sarsfields club from the 1956 until 1975 and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1957 until 1973. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game.Fact|date=April 2008

Doyle’s status as one of the all-time greats is self-evident. In a senior inter-county career that lasted for sixteen years he won six All-Ireland titles, nine Munster titles, seven National Hurling League titles and eight Railway Cup titles. His tally of 18 goals and 176 points from 39 championship games marks him out as one of the top ten scorers of all-time. Doyle was Tipperary’s all-time top scorer until 2007 when his record was surpassed by Eoin Kelly.

Doyle has also been the recipient of many awards and honours off the field. In 1965 his hurling prowess earned him the prestigious Texaco Hurler of the Year award. He was later honoured in 1984 when he was named, by popular opinion, in the right corner-forward position on the GAA Hurling Team of the Century. He was named in the left corner-forward position on the GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium in 1999.

Doyle has been described as perhaps the greatest stylist among Munster hurling forwards. Although lacking the physical strength of Mick Mackey or the amazing burst of speed that Christy Ring had, Doyle became renowned for his skill and for the delicacy of his touch. No matter what speed the sliothar came to him he was able to kill it stone dead or double on it first time with precision. His ability to curve a ball, a skill more associated with Brazilian soccer players, also set him apart from other forwards as a supreme hurling artist.

Early life

Jimmy Doyle was born in Thurles, County Tipperary in 1939. Growing up just around the corner from Thurles Sportsfield, one of the premier venues for Munster hurlers and now known as Semple Stadium, his family had a strong association with the game of hurling. Doyle's father Gerry, a shoe repairer by trade, had been the substitute goalkeeper on the Tipperary's team that won the 1937 All-Ireland title. His uncle was the famous Tommy Doyle, winner of five All-Ireland medals with Tipperary in the 1940s and 1950s.

Doyle was educated locally at the Christian Brothers school in Thurles, however, he had few academic leanings and virtually no interest in school. His mother would do his homework for him while Doyle practiced his hurling skills with his sheepdog in the shadow of the famous Thurles Sportsfield. It was with his dog that Doyle learned the basic skills of hurling and, in particular, the need to control the sliothar. It was with Thurles CBS that Doyle first tasted success as a hurler, winning a Harty Cup medal in 1956.

Playing career

Club

Doyle played his club hurling with the famous Thurles Sarsfields club and enjoyed much success. He won his first senior county title in 1956 at the age of 17 and added three more in succession in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Doyle was a key member of the team that won five county titles in-a-row between 1961 and 1965 and he won his last medal with ‘the Blues’ side in 1974. He retired from club hurling in 1975.

Inter-county

Doyle played his very first game for the Tipperary minor hurling team in 1954 at the age of 14. He started out as the goalkeeper on the team, however, he admitted later that he always hated playing as a goalkeeper. He won a Munster medal that year, however, Dublin defeated Tipp in the All-Ireland final. It was after this defeat that Doyle hinted that he wanted to be moved from the position of goalkeeper to the forward line. His wish was granted and he won a second consecutive Munster title in 1955 as a wing-forward. Doyle later collected his first All-Ireland medal following a defeat of Galway in the final in which he scored a remarkable 2 goals and 8 points. In 1956 Doyle won a third Munster title at minor level before lining out in a third successive All-Ireland final. Kilkenny fell to Tipp on that occasion as Doyle collected a second All-Ireland medal after scoring 2 goals and 3 points. By 1957 he was captain of the minor team and collected a fourth Munster medal in-a-row. Doyle later collected a third successive All-Ireland medal after scoring 1-3 in Tipp’s second consecutive defeat of Kilkenny in the final. His record of appearing in four All-Ireland minor finals in-a-row is one which will probably never be equalled.

Doyle’s amazing skill at minor level brought him to the attention of the senior selectors who elevated him onto the senior county team in 1957. He went on to win his first National Hurling League medal later that same year, before making his Munster Championship debut against Cork in the provincial semi-final. Tipp lost that day, however, the following year Doyle won his first Munster title as the men from the Premier County powered past Waterford, the reigning provincial champions. He subsequently lined out in Croke Park in his first All-Ireland final, however, a Galway side who received a bye into the final provided little opposition. A 4-9 to 2-5 victory for Tipperary meant that Doyle had captured his first All-Ireland medal. He also ended the season as the top scorer in the championship, having scored 2 goals and 23 points. Tipperary lost their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in 1959, however, the team signalled their intent in 1960 by capturing the National League title, Doyle’s second victory in that competition. He later captured a second Munster title as Tipp defeated Cork in what has been described as the toughest game of hurling ever played. Doyle played a huge role in that game and ended up with 1-8 to his credit. This victory allowed Tipperary to advance directly to an All-Ireland final meeting with Wexford. A certain amount of over-confidence was obvious in the Tipperary camp, particularly in trainer Phil Purcell’s comment that no player was capable of marking Jimmy Doyle. It seemed that Purcell had tempted fate as John Nolan thwarted Doyle at every turn in the final. The game ended in remarkable circumstances as the crowd invaded the pitch with a minute to go, mistaking the referee’s whistle for the end of the game. When the crowd were finally moved off the pitch Tipperary continued playing with only twelve men, however, Wexford won the game on a score line of 2-15 to 0-11. In spite of this loss Doyle still ended the season as the championship’s top scorer.

1961 saw Doyle collect a third National League medal before Tipperary line dout against Cork in the Munster final once again at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. It was the end of an era of epoch-making games between the two sides. An official attendance of 62,175 was the biggest ever recorded at a sporting event outside of Croke Park. It has been estimated that up to 70,000 people witnessed the game as the gates were thrown open shortly before the match started due to the size of the crowd. The game itself ended in a victory for Tipperary, with Doyle scoring two goals in the first-half, thus giving him a third provincial medal. During the course of the game, however, Doyle sustained a serious injury but played on. It wasn’t until he was x-rayed in Limerick that he discovered that his ankle was fractured in two places. There were no All-Ireland semi-finals at the time but he still faced a battle to be fit for the clash with Dublin in the final. A series of pain-killing injections before the All-Ireland final, and again at half-time, enabled him to take his place on the team and he finished with a total of 9 points in Tipp’s dramatic one point win over the Metropolitans. It was Doyle’s second All-Ireland victory and, once again, he finished the championship as the top scorer. In 1962 Tipperary defeated all before them in the Munster Championship yet again, giving Doyle, who was captain of the team for the year, his fourth provincial title. Tipp’s nemesis of two year’s earlier, Wexford, waited in Croke Park to test them once again in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Wexford, however, were not the force of old and the side got off to possibly the worst start ever by a team in a championship decider. After just ninety seconds the Leinster champions were down by 2 goals, however, the game turned out to be much closer than people expected. Tipp eventually secured the win on a score line of 3-10 to 2-11, giving Doyle the honour of climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand to collect the Liam McCarthy Cup and a third All-Ireland medal. For the third year in-a-row he also ended the campaign as the championship’s top scorer.

Tipp lost the 1963 Munster final to Waterford in one of the shocks of the decade. The team bounced back in 1964 with Doyle collecting a fifth National League medal. Tipp later cantered casually past Cork in the provincial decider, giving Doyle a fifth Munster title. Kilkenny, the reigning All-Ireland champions and staunch local rivals of Tipp, provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final and were installed as the firm favourites. Doyle had other ideas, however, as he scored 10 points and set up Seán McLoughlin for a goal. Tipperary’s fourteen-point winning margin, 5-13 to 2-8, was the biggest All-Ireland final win since Tipperary had overwhelmed Laois in the 1949 decider. Once again Doyle finished as the championship’s top scorer. In 1965 Doyle was captain of Tipperary for a second time. That year he won a sixth National League medal before demolishing all opposition in the provincial championship giving him a sixth Munster title. Wexford were Tipp’s opponents in the All-Ireland final, however, the game failed to live up to the two classic games between the two sides in 1960 and 1962. Victory went to Tipp on that occasion with Doyle collecting the Liam McCarthy Cup for a second time as well as a fifth All-Ireland medal. Doyle was also presented with the prestigious Texaco Hurler of the Year award. Tipp lost their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in spectacular fashion at the first hurdle in 1966 when a young Limerick team took them by surprise. The team bounced back in 1967 with Doyle collecting a seventh Munster title. By this stage, however, Tipp’s pool of players was ageing and the county’s hurling fortunes were in decline. Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final and provided more than a match for Tipperary. Goals from Paddy Moran, Martin Brennan and Tom Walsh laid to rest a bogey that Tipperary had over Kilkenny since 1922. Tipp crushed Cork in the provincial finala again in 1968, giving Doyle his eighth Munster title. For the fourth time that decade Tipperary faced Wexford in the championship decider, however, the Munster champions were now in terminal decline and surrendered an eight-point lead at half-time giving Wexford the victory.

By 1971 Doyle’s career was drawing to a close. The back trouble that had dogged him throughout his life was taking its toll. Doyle was only a substitute for that year’s championship, however, he started for the Munster final. Tipp defeated Limerick that day with Doyle collecting a ninth provincial medal. Kilkenny provided the opposition against Tipperary in that year’s All-Ireland final. Doyle was only listed as a substitute again, however, he came on for the last ten minutes of the game, ensuring that he won his sixth All-Ireland medal on the field of play. In the All-Ireland final to be broadcast in colour by Telfis Éireann, Tipp won on a score line of 5-17 to 5-14. Doyle continued to play for Tipperary for the next two years but time was now running out. Broken fingers, ankles, knuckles, collar bones and premature arthritis meant that he was no longer able to command an automatic place on the team. In 1973 the regular Tipperary goalkeeper, Tadhg Murphy, was forced to emigrate to England. With no other goalkeeper available Doyle was asked to play in goal. Although reluctant he lined out between the posts in the Munster championship victories over Waterford and Cork. Murphy returned for the Munster final against Limerick and Doyle was dropped to the subs benches. Tipp lost the game and Doyle retired from inter-county hurling.

Province

Doyle was also a regular player with the Munster hurling team in the Railway Cup inter-provincial competition. He first lined out for his province in 1958 as Munster defeated Leinster in the final on St. Patricks Day. It was the first of four such victories in-a-row as Doyle also won with Munster in 1959, 1960 and 1961. He won his next inter-ptovincial title in 1963 in what was Christy Ring’s last appearanace in Croke Park. Doyle won his last three titles with Munster in 1966, 1969 and 1970.

Post-playing career

In retirement Doyle came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time. His hurling artistry meant that he was an automatic choice for a special Hurling Team of the Century, picked in 1984 to mark the centenary year of the Gaelic Athletic Association. In 1999 Doyle was picked on the GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium, marking him out as one of the greatest players of all-time.

On March 13, 2008 Doyle was profiled on the TG4 television programme "Laochra Gael".

Honours

Winning Teams

ee also

* List of people on stamps of Ireland