The long awaited new link road in Thurles, which now joins the Templemore and Nenagh roads, was officially opened at midday on April 2nd last, by Mr Alan Kelly TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport & Tourism. The new link road has been named after one of Thurles town’s proudest sons, Mr Jimmy Doyle.
To many of our regular readers living abroad, the name ‘Jimmy Doyle,‘ may hold little significance, however mention his name in Tipperary or indeed Ireland and you will open a conversation which surrounds a legend and which is guaranteed to continue for some time, thus ensuring you are late for any future intended destination.
Jimmy Doyle A Master Class In The Sport of Hurling
James (Jimmy) Doyle was born 1939 in Thurles, County Tipperary. He is a retired Irish hurling manager and a former player, beginning his career with the famous Thurles Sarsfields club from 1956 until 1975 and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1957 until 1973.
Jimmy is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers, ever, in the history of the game. In his Senior Inter-county career, which lasted for sixteen years, he won six All-Ireland titles, nine Munster titles, seven National Hurling League titles and eight Railway Cup titles. His completed tally of 18 goals, 176 points from 39 Championship Games, marks him as one of the top ten scorers of all-time. It took until 2007 for his all-time scoring record to be surpassed by Eoin Kelly.
Doyle won four consecutive minor County Titles, between 1954 and 1957 and won his first Senior County title in 1956 at the tender age of 17, adding three more in succession in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Throughout the 1960’s Doyle was a key member of the team that won five county titles in a row between 1961 and 1965. He also added a County Football title to his tally with Thurles Crokes in 1960. Jimmy captured his tenth and last senior county winners’ medal with ‘The Thurles Blues,’ in 1974, before retiring from club hurling in 1975.
Jimmy has also been the recipient of many awards and honours off the field. In 1965 his hurling prowess earned him the prestigious ‘Texaco Hurler of the Year,‘ award. He was honoured in 1984, by being named a member of the GAA ‘Hurling Team of the Century.’ To add to this, he was correctly named, (In left corner-forward position) on the GAA’s ‘Hurling Team of the Millennium,’ in 1999.
Jimmy Doyle has been described as being a ‘hurling stylist,’ among Munster hurling forwards and while lacking the amazing bursts of speed of hurler Christy Ring and the physical strength of hurler Mick Mackey, Doyle became renowned for his skill in the delicacy of his touch and his ability to kill a Sliothar (Sliothar: A hard solid sphere slightly larger than a tennis ball.) dead and the precise accuracy of his return. Indeed his strength and ability to curve a ball, set him apart from all other forwards, as a supreme master of the art of hurling.
To Jimmy Doyle go our best wishes and sincere congratulations, from the people of Thurles, on receiving this his latest well earned accolade.
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