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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Nioclás Ó Dónaill | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-back | ||
| Born |
4 September 1925 Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny, Ireland | ||
| Died |
11 June 1988 (aged 62) Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland | ||
| Nickname | Nicko | ||
| Occupation | Roadstone employee | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
|
Éire Óg St Aidan's | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Wexford titles | 7 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1947–1950 1951–1962 |
Kilkenny Wexford |
0 (0-00) 35 (0-00) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 6 | ||
| All-Irelands | 3 | ||
| NHL | 2 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 23:25, 16 July 2013. | |||
Nicholas "Skinny" O'Donnell (4 September 1925 – 11 June 1988) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-back for the Kilkenny and Wexford senior teams.
Born in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny, O'Donnell first played competitive hurling whilst at school in St Kieran's College. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one when he first linked up with the Kilkenny junior team. He joined the senior team for the 1947 championship, however, after failing to secure a place on the starting fifteen he later joined the Wexford team.[1] O'Donnell went on to play a key part for Wexford during a golden age for the team, and won three All-Ireland medals, six Leinster medals and two National Hurling League medals. An All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions, O'Donnell also captained the team to All-Ireland victory in 1955 and 1960.
As a member of the Leinster inter-provincial team for five years, O'Donnell won just one Railway Cup medal. At club level he won seven championship medals with St Aidan's, having earlier played for Éire Óg.
After a fifteen-year inter-county career, O'Donnell retired from inter-county hurling following Wexford's defeat by Tipperary in the 1962 championship
O'Donnell is widely regarded as the undisputed greatest full-back in the history of the game.[2] During his playing days he was named Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1960. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at full-back on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.[3]
- ^ O'Brien, John (3 July 2005). "O'Donnell was like manna from Heaven – Rackard". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ Furlong, Brendan (8 January 2010). "125 Greatest Wexford Hurlers". Enniscorthy Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "Lohan a 'total hurler'". Irish Independent. 1 September 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2013.