John Fenton (hurler)

John Fenton (born 11 December 1955) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a midfielder and forward for the Cork senior team.

Born in Midleton, County Cork, Fenton first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Midleton CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 1975 championship. Fenton subsequently became a regular member of the starting fifteen and won two All-Ireland medals, seven Munster medals and two National Hurling League medals. The All-Ireland-winning captain of 1984, he was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Fenton won three Railway Cup medals. At club level he is a one-time All-Ireland medallist with Midleton. In addition to this he has also won two Munster medals and three championship medals.

Throughout his career Fenton made 31 championship appearances. His retirement came following the conclusion of the 1987 championship.

Fenton is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers of his era. During his playing days he won five consecutive All-Star awards. In a 2009 poll Fenton was chosen as one of the 125 greatest hurlers of all-time.^[1]