Colm Spillane (born 1 July 1993) is an Irish hurler who plays for Cork Championship club Castlelyons. He played for the Cork senior hurling team at various stages between 2013 and 2021, during which time he usually lined out as a corner-back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Colm Ó Spealáin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Left corner-back | ||
| Born |
1 July 1993 Castlelyons, County Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Occupation | Secondary school teacher | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2010-present 2015-2016 2017-2018 |
Castlelyons → University College Cork → Imokilly | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 2 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
2012-2017 | University College Cork | ||
| College titles | |||
| Fitzgibbon titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2013-2021 | Cork | 13 (0-01) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 21:52, 31 July 2021. | |||
Spillane began his hurling career at club level with Castlelyons. He broke onto the club's top adult team as a 16-year-old in 2010, before later lining out for University College Cork and Imokilly, winning consecutive County Championship titles with the latter.
At inter-county level, Spillane enjoyed five consecutive but unsuccessful seasons with the Cork minor and under-21 teams, before later winning an All-Ireland Intermediate Championship title. He joined the Cork senior team in 2013. Spillane's senior career was blighted by a series of injuries, however, he made a combined total of 31 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in 2021. During that time he was part of two Munster Championship-winning teams – in 2017 and 2018. Spillane was an All-Ireland Championship runner-up on one occasion. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 6 December 2021.
Playing career edit
College edit
Spillane first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Colman's College in Fermoy. Having played hurling in every grade during his time at the school, winning a White Cup title in the under-15 grade, he usually lined out in the forwards on the senior team in the Harty Cup.[1][2]
University edit
As a student at University College Cork, Spillane joined the college senior team. In 2017 he was captain of the team for the Fitzgibbon Cup, while he has also lined out with the college in the county championship.[3][4]
Club edit
Spillane joined the Castlelyons club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, winning an under-21 championship medal in 2010 following a defeat of Ballinascarthy. He has also been selected for divisional side Imokilly in the senior championship.[5]
Inter-county edit
Minor, under-21 and intermediate edit
Spillane first played for Cork at minor level on 26 June 2010 in a draw with Waterford.[6] He was captain of the team for Cork's unsuccessful season in 2011 before playing for three unsuccessful seasons with the Cork under-21 team. By this stage, Spillane had also joined the Cork intermediate team, winning a Munster medal on 25 June 2014 after a 4-15 to 2-08 defeat of Tipperary.[7] On 9 August 2014, he won an All-Ireland medal following a 2-18 to 2-12 defeat of Wexford in the final.[8]
Senior edit
Spillane made his senior debut for Cork on 19 January 2013 in a Waterford Crystal Cup defeat of University College Cork at the Mardyke Arena.[9] He made his first start in a National League relegation play-off defeat by Clare on 14 April 2013.[10]
Spillane was a regular member of the league panel for the 2014 campaign, before being released prior to the start of the championship and being omitted completely in 2015.[11]
Spillane returned to the senior panel in 2016, however, he missed the latter stages of the league and the championship after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in a game against Waterford.[12][13]
After recovering, he made his first championship start on 21 May 2017 in a Munster Championship quarter-final defeat of Tipperary.[14] On 9 July 2017, Spillane won his first Munster medal following a 1-25 to 1-20 defeat of Clare in the final.[15]
On 1 July 2018, Spillane won a second successive Munster medal following a 2-24 to 3-19 defeat of Clare in the final.[16] He ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star Award.[17]
On 5 March 2019, it was confirmed that Spillane, who had missed the early stages of the National League, was not able to get back to full training until closer to the Munster Championship.[18] The extent of his injuries resulted in Spillane missing the entire championship campaign.[19]
On 7 January 2020, Spillane returned to the Cork senior team when he lined out at right corner-back in Cork's 2-18 to 1-20 defeat by University College Cork in the Canon O'Brien Cup.[20]
Career statistics edit
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Cork | 2013 | Division 1A | 1 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 |
| 2014 | Division 1B | 1 | 0-00 | — | — | 1 | 0-00 | |||
| 2015 | Division 1A | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2016 | 1 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | ||
| 2017 | 6 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | 10 | 0-00 | ||
| 2018 | 5 | 0-02 | 5 | 0-01 | 1 | 0-00 | 11 | 0-03 | ||
| 2019 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2020 | 4 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-00 | 6 | 0-00 | ||
| 2021 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0-02 | 8 | 0-01 | 5 | 0-00 | 31 | 0-03 | ||
Honours edit
- Castlelyons
- Imokilly
- Cork
References edit
- ^ Murphy, Éamonn (29 June 2018). "Spillane: It was always my dream to wear the Rebel red". Evening Echo. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (20 January 2011). "Flannans' firepower sinks brave Colmans' challenge". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ^ "Late surge seals Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final spot for UCC". Irish Times. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Fogarty, John (27 September 2017). "Jamie Barron defends UCC's place in Cork championship". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Muskerry downed by Imokilly". The Corkman. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Larkin, Brendan (28 June 2010). "Winners all round in another minor thriller". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Hat-Trick hero Drake inspires Rebels". Irish Independent. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Ó Conchúir, Daragh (11 August 2014). "Third quarter surge sends Cork on way". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (21 June 2013). "Encouraging signs from Rebels". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Clare win out in relegation final after extra-time". The 42. 14 April 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Five out and two in as Cork hurlers finalise senior championship panel". The 42. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Setback for Cork as defender out for season after tearing cruciate in Waterford game". The 42. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "'Huge blow' to Cork hurlers as Colm Spillane ruled out with long-term injury". Irish EXaminer. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Kieran Kingston hands league debuts to five U21s in new-look Cork side". The 42. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "Cork victorious over Clare in Munster hurling final". Irish Examiner. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ Clerkin, Malachy (1 July 2018). "Cork quietly collect another Munster title as Clare crumble". Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "All Star hurling nominees: 15 Limerick players in contention". Hogan Stand. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ Horgan, John (5 March 2019). "Spillane is still on the road to recovery though Mark Ellis has returned to training". Echo Live. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Horgan, John (26 April 2019). "Meyler confirms Colm Spillane will miss the Cork and Tipp clash". Echo Live. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ Hurley, Denis (6 January 2020). "Colm Spillane returns as Cork name team for Canon O'Brien Cup". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
External links edit
- Colm Spillane profile at the Castlelyons GAA website
- Colm Spillane profile at the Cork GAA website