Mick Mackey

Michael John Mackey (12 July 1912 – 13 September 1982) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Limerick county team.

Born in Castleconnell, County Limerick, Mackey first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Limerick minor team, before later lining out with the junior side.

Mackey was just fourteen years-old when the Ahane club was formed in 1926.

Deemed too young to play at the time, he made his club debut in September 1928 in a junior championship defeat of Fedamore.

It was a successful campaign that ended with the county final on 16 June 1929.

A 5–1 to 2–2 defeat of Kilmeedy gave Mackey a junior championship medal.

1929 also proved to be a successful year for Mackey.

A 1–8 to 1–2 defeat of Cappamore gave him an intermediate championship medal.

He made his senior debut in the 1930–31 National League.

Mackey went on to play a key part for Limerick during a golden age for the team, and won three All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and five National Hurling League medals.

An All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions, Mackey also captained the team to two All-Ireland victories.

His brother, John Mackey, also shared in these victories while his father, "Tyler" Mackey was a one-time All-Ireland runner-up with Limerick.

Mackey represented the Munster inter-provincial team for twelve years, winning eight Railway Cup medals during that period.

At club level he won fifteen championship medals with Ahane.

Throughout his inter-county career, Mackey made 42 championship appearances for Limerick.

Mackey continued his winning ways in 1930, winning a minor championship medal following a victory over Doon.

He had earlier won a minor championship medal with Clonlara when he briefly played in Clare.

In 1931 Mackey was a key part of the Ahane team that reached the final of the senior championship.

A 5–5 to 1–4 trouncing of Croom gave Ahane their first senior title, while it also gave Mackey his first championship medal.

Ahane failed to retain their title, however, Mackey's team returned to the championship decider once again in 1933.

A 1–7 to 1–1 defeat of Croom gave him his second championship medal.

It was the beginning of a run of success, as Ahane went on to dominated club hurling in Limerick for the rest of the decade.

Back-to-back defeats of Kildimo in 1934 and 1935, followed by four successive defeats of Croom brought Mackey's championship medal tally to eight.

Five successive final victories between 1935 and 1939 gave him championship medals in the other code also.

Eight-in-a-row proved beyond Ahane, as Croom triumphed in 1940 and 1941.

During this time Mackey also starred with the Ahane senior football team.

Ahane hurlers bounced back in 1942 to reach a tenth successive county decider.

A 7–8 to 1–0 defeat of Rathkeale gave Mackey an eight winners' medal in the hurling championship.

This victory set Ahane off on another great run of success.

Further defeats of Croom (twice), Rathkeale (twice), Granagh-Ballingarry and St. Patrick's yielded another seven championships in succession.

These victories brought Mackey's championship medal to a remarkable fifteen.

His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1947 championship.

In retirement from playing, Mackey became involved in team management and coaching.

As trainer of the Limerick senior team in 1955, he guided them to Munster victory.

He also served as a selector on various occasions with both Limerick and Munster.

Mackey also served as a referee.

Mackey is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game.

He was the inaugural recipient of the All-Time All-Star Award.

He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at centre-forward on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.

In 2021, the trophy given to the winning Munster Senior Hurling Championship team was named in Mackey's honour.