| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Déaglán Daltúin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Left wing-forward | ||
| Born | (1997-11-06)6 November 1997 (age 28) Ballymacoda,County Cork,Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Nickname | Deccie | ||
| Occupation | Electrician | ||
| Clubs* | |||
| Years | Club | Apps (scores) | |
2014-present 2015-2019 | Fr. O'Neill's →Imokilly | 53 (39-410) 23 (5-92) | |
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 3 | ||
| Inter-county** | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2016-present | Cork | 22 (4-48) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 1 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
| * club appearances and scores correct as of 20:55, 10 July 2025. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 20:55, 10 July 2025. | |||
Declan Dalton (born 6 November 1997) is an Irishhurler who plays as a forward for club sideFr. O'Neill's, divisional sideImokilly and at inter-county level with theCork senior hurling team.
Born and raised inBallymacoda,County Cork, Dalton first played hurling to a high standard as a student at Pobalscoil na Tríonóide inYoughal. He progressed through the various age grades before joining the school's senior team. Dalton was the top scorer during theirDr Harty Cup campaign in2014–15.[1]
Dalton joined theFr. O'Neill's club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 16 September 2013, he was at right wing-forward when Fr. O'Neill's defeatedNewcestown by 4-14 to 5-10 to win the Cork Premier 2 MHC title.
Dalton subsequently progressed onto the Fr. O'Neill's under-21 team. On 8 December 2018, he gave the "performance of a lifetime" for Fr. O'Neill's when he scored 0-15, including twelve from frees, in 3-24 to 4-18 defeat ofMidleton to win theCork Premier Under-21 Championship title.[2]
Dalton made his first appearance for the Fr. O'Neill's top adult team during the2014 Cork Intermediate Championship.
On 22 October 2016, Dalton scored six points from full-forward when Fr. O'Neill's drew withKildorrery in theCork Intermediate Championship final.[3] The replay a week later also saw Dalton top score for the team with 1-08 in a 1-18 to 1-14 victory.[4]
On 12 October 2019, Dalton lined out at full-forward when Fr. O'Neill's facedKilworth in theCork Premier Intermediate Championship final. He ended the game with awinners' medal following the 3-23 to 1-20 victory.[5] Dalton was also the championship's top scorer with 3-45. On 24 November 2019, he scored 1-07 when Fr. O'Neill's defeatedBallysaggart by 2-15 to 0-17 to win theMunster Club Championship.[6]
Dalton's performances at club level lead to him being selected for theImokilly divisional team during the2015 Cork Senior Championship.
On 22 October 2017, Dalton was in goal when Imokilly defeatedBlackrock by 3-13 to 0-18 to win theCork Senior Championship final.[7] It was the division's first title since1998.
Dalton was replaced in goal byWatergrasshill'sDara O'Callaghan for the2018 Cork Senior Championship, however, he remained on the panel as a forward. On 14 October, he was introduced as a 52nd-minute substitute forBarry Lawton when Imokilly retained the title after a 4-19 to 1-18 defeat ofMidleton in the final.[8]
On 20 October 2019, Dalton played in a third successivecounty final. Lining out at full-forward, he top scored for the team with 1-07 and collected a third successive winners' medal after the 2-17 to 1-16 defeat ofGlen Rovers.[9] Dalton was also the championship's top scorer with 3-55.
Dalton first played for Cork at minor level on 8 April 2015 in a 2-20 to 1-13Munster Championship defeat ofLimerick.[10] An anomaly in the championship format saw Cork face the same opposition in the semi-final, with Limerick reversing the result and knocking Dalton's team out of the championship.[11]
On 13 July 2017, Dalton made his first appearance for the Cork under-21 hurling team, scoring 1-12, including a late penalty, in Cork's one-point defeat ofWaterford.[12]
Dalton won aMunster Championship medal on 4 July 2018, after scoring seven points in Cork's 2-23 to 1-13 defeat ofTipperary in the final.[13] A knee injury in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final defeat ofWexford threatened to end his championship campaign.[14] On 26 August 2018, Dalton scored five points from frees in a 3-13 to 1-16All-Ireland final defeat by Tipperary in what was his last game in the grade.[15] Dalton was later nominated for the Team of the Year.[16]
Dalton was added to the extended training panel of the Cork senior team in late 2016.[17] He made his first competitive appearance as goalkeeper on 25 January 2017 and scored two long-range points from frees in Cork's 0-19 to 0-15Munster League defeat ofClare.[18]
On 27 January 2019, Dalton made his firstNational Hurling League appearance at centre-forward in a 2-18 to 0-17 defeat byKilkenny atNowlan Park.[19] On 13 February, it was announced that he faced a period on the sidelines following a knee operation.[20]
| Team | Year | Cork IHC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Fr. O'Neill's | 2014 | 4 | 1-21 | — | — | 4 | 1-21 | ||
| 2015 | 4 | 3-33 | — | — | 4 | 3-33 | |||
| 2016 | 7 | 5-55 | — | — | 7 | 5-55 | |||
| Total | 15 | 9-109 | — | — | 15 | 9-109 | |||
| Year | Cork PIHC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| 2017 | 4 | 3-14 | — | — | 4 | 3-14 | |||
| 2018 | 4 | 3-19 | — | — | 4 | 3-19 | |||
| 2019 | 5 | 3-45 | 3 | 3-28 | 2 | 2-14 | 10 | 8-87 | |
| Total | 13 | 9-78 | 3 | 3-28 | 2 | 2-14 | 18 | 14-120 | |
| Year | Cork SAHC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| 2020 | 5 | 7-35 | — | — | 5 | 7-35 | |||
| 2021 | 3 | 3-30 | — | — | 3 | 3-30 | |||
| 2022 | 5 | 1-50 | — | — | 5 | 1-50 | |||
| Total | 13 | 11-115 | — | — | 13 | 11-115 | |||
| Year | Cork PSHC | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| 2023 | 3 | 2-24 | — | — | 3 | 2-24 | |||
| 2024 | 4 | 3-42 | — | — | 4 | 3-42 | |||
| 2025 | 3 | 1-28 | — | — | 3 | 1-28 | |||
| Total | 10 | 6-94 | — | — | 10 | 6-94 | |||
| Career total | 51 | 35-396 | 3 | 3-28 | 2 | 2-14 | 56 | 40-438 | |
| Team | Year | Cork SHC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | ||
| Imokilly | 2015 | 3 | 1-10 |
| 2016 | 4 | 0-08 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 1-08 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0-11 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 3-55 | |
| Career total | 23 | 5-92 | |
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Cork Minor | 2015 | — | 2 | 0-03 | — | 2 | 0-03 | |||
| Total | — | 2 | 0-03 | — | 2 | 0-03 | ||||
| Cork U21 | 2017 | — | 2 | 1-14 | — | 2 | 1-14 | |||
| 2018 | — | 2 | 0-15 | 2 | 0-13 | 4 | 0-28 | |||
| Total | — | 4 | 1-29 | 2 | 0-13 | 6 | 1-42 | |||
| Cork | 2017 | Division 1A | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2019 | 2 | 0-01 | 3 | 0-02 | 1 | 0-01 | 6 | 0-04 | ||
| 2020 | 3 | 0-02 | 1 | 0-01 | 2 | 1-02 | 6 | 1-05 | ||
| 2021 | 2 | 0-02 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-02 | ||
| 2022 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2023 | 4 | 1-12 | 4 | 2-09 | — | 8 | 3-21 | |||
| 2024 | 2 | 0-07 | 3 | 0-07 | 4 | 0-14 | 9 | 0-28 | ||
| 2025 | 5 | 3-13 | 3 | 1-07 | 1 | 0-05 | 9 | 4-25 | ||
| Total | 18 | 4-37 | 14 | 3-26 | 8 | 1-22 | 40 | 8-85 | ||
| Career total | 18 | 4-37 | 20 | 4-58 | 10 | 1-35 | 48 | 9-130 | ||