Anthony Cunningham

Anthony Cunningham (born 16 June 1965) is a former hurler who has since managed various Gaelic football and hurling teams.

Cunningham first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Galway minor hurling team as a sixteen-year-old in 1981.

He made his debut that year as Galway reached the All-Ireland final for the first time in eight years.

Kilkenny were the opponents and went on to win the game by 1–20 to 3–9.

Galway were back in a second successive All-Ireland minor decider again in 1982 as Tipperary provided the opposition.

A complete collapse by Galway resulted in a 2–7 to 0–4 defeat.

Cunningham joined the senior panel during the 1983-84 league.

He went on to play a key role for Galway in attack during a hugely successful era, and won two All-Ireland medals and one National Hurling League medal.

He was an All-Ireland runner-up on four occasions.

In 1983 Cunningham was in his final year on the minor team when he was appointed captain.

Galway reached a third consecutive All-Ireland decider, this time with Dublin providing the opposition.

A 0–10 to 0–7 victory spared Galway the unwanted distinction of losing three successive championship deciders, while it also gave Cunningham an All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship medal as captain.

Cunningham subsequently joined the Galway under-21 hurling team.

Cunningham made his senior debut for Galway in a National Hurling League game against Tipperary in 1984 and immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen.

In spite of an indifferent league campaign during the 1984–85 season, Galway subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland final against Offaly.

Cunningham came on as a substitute in that game, however, Offaly won by 2–11 to 1–12.

As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team, Cunningham won four Railway Cup medals between 1986 and 1991.

Throughout his inter-county career he made 15 championship appearances.

After a few unsuccessful seasons he was appointed captain in his final year on the team in 1986.

Galway qualified for the All-Ireland final that year with Wexford providing the opposition.

A 1–14 to 2–5 victory gave Galway the title and gave Cunningham an All-Ireland medal in the under-21 grade.

In 1986 Galway qualified for a second successive All-Ireland decider, this time with Cunningham as a member of the starting fifteen.

The men from the west were the red-hot favourites against an ageing Cork team, however, on the day a different story unfolded.

Four Cork goals, one from John Fenton, two from Tomás Mulcahy and one from Kevin Hennessy, stymied the Galway attack and helped 'the Rebels' to a 4–13 to 2–15 victory.

Cunningham enjoyed his first senior success with Galway in 1987 when he won a National League winners' medal following a two-point defeat of Clare.

For the third year-in-a-row Galway reached the All-Ireland final.

Cunningham retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1993 championship.

Equally adept as a coach of both hurling and Gaelic football, Cunningham's first position as manager of the Roscommon senior hurling team was an unsuccessful one.

In 2006 he took charge of the St Brigid's football team, guiding them to back-to-back championship titles.

Cunningham later guided Garrycastle to an All-Ireland appearance having already secured a Leinster title and three successive championship titles.

In 2009 Cunningham was back as an inter-county manager with the Galway under-21 hurling team.

He was manager of the Galway county hurling team between 2011 and 2015 and of the Roscommon county football team between 2018 and 2022.

He is the only manager to lead a football team and a hurling team to provincial titles in two different provinces.

Born in Peterswell, County Galway, Cunningham was raised in a hurling stronghold in the south of the county.

He was a two-time Connacht medallist at colleges level with Our Lady's College while simultaneously joining the St Thomas' senior club team.

Cunningham made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of fifteen when he first linked up with the Galway minor team.

An All-Ireland-winning captain in this grade, he later captained Galway to an All-Ireland title with the under-21 team.

A successful tenure, culminating in the winning of the All-Ireland title, led to Cunningham being appointed manager of the Galway senior team on 27 October 2011.

He has since gone on to lead Galway to two All-Ireland final appearances and a Leinster title.

He was manager of the Galway senior team from 2011 to 2015.