Liam Sheedy

Liam Sheedy (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish hurling manager and former player who was the manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team on two occasions.

Born in Portroe, County Tipperary, Sheedy enjoyed All-Ireland success as a schoolboy hurler before enjoying championship success at club level with Portroe.

After beginning his inter-county career with the Tipperary minor team, he later enjoyed All-Ireland successes with the Tipperary under-21 and junior teams.

He made his first appearance for the team at right corner-back in a defeat of Limerick on 22 May 1987 and later won a Munster Championship medal after a 2–11 to 1–09 defeat of Cork in the final.

On 6 September 1987, Sheedy lined out against Offaly in the All-Ireland final, however, Tipperary were defeated by 2–08 to 0–12.

Sheedy made his senior debut during the 1989-90 league, however, it would be 1997 before he became a regular member of the starting fifteen.

Sheedy joined the Portroe club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying championship success with the Portroe under-21 team in 1989.

By this stage he had also joined the club's top adult team.

Sheedy subsequently joined the Tipperary under-21 team, making his first appearance at full-back in a 2–14 to 5-05 Munster quarter-final draw with Cork on 21 June 1989.

Later that season he won a Munster Championship medal after a 5–16 to 1–06 defeat of Limerick in the Munster final.

On 10 September 1989, Sheedy was moved to right corner-back for Tipperary's 4–10 to 3–11 defeat of Offaly in the All-Ireland final.

In his second and final season with the under-21 team, Sheedy won a second successive Munster Championship medal after a 2–21 to 1–11 victory over Limerick in the final.

Sheedy was selected for the Tipperary junior hurling team for the first time on 11 June 1989.

He played at left wing-back in the Munster Championship semi-final defeat of Limerick before later winning his first Munster Championship medal after a 2–14 to 2–08 victory over Clare in the final.

On 21 July 1989, Sheedy won an All-Ireland medal after a 0–12 to 0–08 defeat of Galway in the final.

On 15 October 1989, Sheedy made his National Hurling League debut for Tipperary in a 1–10 to 1–09 defeat by Dublin at Croke Park.

On 11 November 1990, Sheedy scored four points from midfield when Portroe defeated Mullinahone by 2–12 to 1–11 in the Tipperary Intermediate Championship final.

It was the club's first county title in an adult grade.

Sheedy first played at inter-county level as a member of the Tipperary minor hurling team.

On 9 September 1990, Sheedy was at centre-forward when Tipperary were defeated by Kilkenny by 2–11 to 1–11 in the All-Ireland final.

It was his last game in the under-21 grade.

After being ineligible for the junior grade in 1990, Sheedy was selected for the Tipperary team again the following year and won a second Munster Championship medal after a 2–20 to 0–11 defeat of Cork in a final replay.

He later lined out for Tipperary in the Oireachtas Cup but was later dropped from the team before the 1990 Munster Championship.

After a seven-year hiatus, Sheedy was recalled to the Tipperary senior team.

On 8 September 1991, Sheedy won a second All-Ireland medal in the junior grade when he was at centre-forward for Tipperary's 4–17 to 1–05 victory over London in the final proper.

He made his first championship start on 26 July 1997 in a 3–24 to 3-08 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat of Down at St. Tiernach's Park.

On 14 September 1997, Sheedy was at right wing-back for Tipperary in their 0–20 to 2-13 All-Ireland final defeat by Clare.

During his brief senior career he won a National Hurling League medal in 1999.

On 16 May 1999, Sheedy collected his only silverware at senior level when he won a National Hurling League medal after a 1–14 to 1–10 defeat of Galway in the final.

In November 2001, Sheedy took his first inter-county management position when he was appointed manager of the Tipperary intermediate hurling team.

He enjoyed some early success with the team after guiding them to a Munster Championship title after a 4--8 to 2–07 defeat of Waterford in the final.

Sheedy began his managerial career with the Tipperary intermediate team in 2002 and, after some success, he later guided the Tipperary minor team to the All-Ireland title in 2006.

On 21 September 2002, Tipperary suffered an eight-point defeat by Galway in the All-Ireland final replay.

On 5 November 2002, Sheedy joined the Tipperary senior hurling management team as a selector under new manager Michael Doyle.

His sole season as a selector saw Tipperary suffer an early-round defeat by Clare in the Munster Championship before exiting the championship with a 3–18 to 0–15 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.

In September 2004, Sheedy was ratified as manager of the Tipperary minor hurling team.

Having briefly served as a selector with the Tipperary senior team, he eventually took over as manager and secured the All-Ireland title in 2010.

His other inter-county activity saw him act as an adviser to the Antrim and Offaly senior hurling teams.

Sheedy also enjoyed successful tenures as manager, coach, selector and adviser with club sides Portroe, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Drom-Inch, while he secured an Interprovincial Championship as manager of Munster.

In between his two spells as Tipperary senior manager, Sheedy was chairman of the National Hurling 2020 Committee, served as a member of the Irish Sports Council and was active in the media, usually as an analyst with The Sunday Game.