| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Ó Bruacháin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Left corner-back | ||
| Born | (1935-06-18)18 June 1935 Ballintemple,Cork, Ireland | ||
| Died | 19 September 2023(2023-09-19) (aged 88) Curraheen Road, Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Nickname | Prince of corner backs | ||
| Occupation | Customs official | ||
| Club | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1953–1973 | Blackrock | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 2 | ||
| Inter-county | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1953–1964 | Cork | 19 (0-00) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
James Brohan (18 June 1935 – 19 September 2023) was an Irish sportsperson. He playedhurling with his local clubBlackrock and was a member of theCork senior inter-county team from 1954 until 1963.
Born inBallintemple, Brohan, the middle child in a family of seven, grew up inBlackrock after the family moved there in 1939. Two of his brothers playedsoccer in theLeague of Ireland withEvergreen United andCork Hibernians.[1][2] His father was born inFethard,County Tipperary but moved toCork and worked in the Metropole Hotel.
Brohan first playedhurling andGaelic football as a schoolboy at Sullivan's Quay CBS. He played on the school'sHarty Cup team for a number of years, beginning as a goalkeeper but later becoming an outfield player. He was full-forward on the Sullivan's Quay Harty Cup team that beat theNorth Monastery in 1951 before losing the final toThurles CBS. Brohan's performances earned his inclusion on theMunster Colleges inter-provincial team, and he won consecutiveAll-Ireland titles in this competition in 1952 and 1953.
Brohan first played hurling at club level when he took part in the parish leagues run by theBlackrock National Hurling Club. While there were very few competitive juvenile matches, he was selected to play in goal for the Blackrock minor team as a 14-year-old in 1949. In his fifth and final year in the minor grade in 1953, Brohan was part of the Blackrock team that won the City MHC title for the first time, before later being beaten bySarsfields in the county final. He also made hissenior team debut that year.
After losing the1954 Cork SHC final toGlen Rovers, Brohan was part of the Blackrock team that won a firstCork SHC in 25 years following a 2–10 to 2–02 win over the Glen in the1956 final.[3] He also achieved success inGaelic football that year, when sister clubSt Michael's beatDromtarriffe to win theCork JFC title.[4] Brohan was appointedteam captain for the1959 Cork SHC, however, Blackrock's season ended with a 3–11 to 3–05 defeat by Glen Rovers in thefinal.[5]
Blackrock were back in a fourth final in1961, with Brohan collecting a second winners' medal after the 4–10 to 3–07 defeat ofAvondhu.[6] His last big occasion with Blackrock was their1963 final defeat byUniversity College Cork.[7] Brohan brought his senior club career to an end shortly after winning aCork IFC medal following St Michael's defeat ofDohenys in 1969.[8] He continued to line out in goal with the Blackrock junior team until 1973.
Brohan began his inter-county career withCork as a member of theminor team in 1952. His two-year tenure with the team ended with semi-final defeats byTipperary.[9] He immediately progressed to thesenior team and made his first appearances during the1953–54 National League. Brohan made his championship debut as a replacement for the injuredTony O'Shaughnessy in the1954 All-Ireland semi-final defeat ofGalway. The injured O'Shaughnessy returned for the subsequentAll-Ireland final, with Brohan claiming a winners' medal as a substitute after the 1–09 to 1–06 defeat ofWexford.[10]
Brohan was suspended from allGAA activity in 1955 after being selected for theSeandún divisional football team and failing to turn up. He returned to the Cork senior team as first-choice right corner-back the following year and won his firstMunster SHC medal on the field of play after a defeat ofLimerick in the final.[11] Brohan was later denied a second All-Ireland winners' medal when Wexford beat Cork by 2–14 to 2–08 in the1956 All-Ireland final.[12][13]
As adual player in 1957, Brohan won aMunster JFC medal after a 1–07 to 0–07 defeat of Limerick.[14] Cork were later beaten byMayo in theAll-Ireland home final. The second half of Brohan's inter-county hurling career was characterised by a downturn in Cork's fortunes. There were fiveMunster final defeats between 1957 and 1964, however, there were some personal highlights when he was included on aSunday Review best hurling team of the year selection in 1958, while aGael Linn-sponsored poll in theIrish Independent in 1961 named him in the right corner-back position on a hurling team considered to be the best ever.[15] Brohan made his last appearance for Cork as a substitute in 1964.[16]
Brohan's performances at inter-county level made him an automatic selection for theMunster inter-provincial team between 1957 and 1963. His first five years with the team yielded five successiveRailway Cup victories. After a defeat byLeinster in 1962, Brohan claimed a sixth and final Railway Cup medal in 1963.[17]
Following his retirement as a player Brohan became involved as a selector with the county hurling team. He was involved with the teams that won the All-Ireland titles in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1986. In the latter year Brohan had the pleasure of seeing his nephew,Tom Cashman, captain Cork to victory.
After leaving Sullivan's Quay in 1953 Brohan worked at the Dunlop's tyre centre in Cork until its closure in 1983. Other Cork greats who also worked there includedJohnny Clifford andWillie Murphy. Brohan later worked with the Customs Service until his retirement in 2000.[18]
Brohan died on 19 September 2023, at the age of 88.[19]