Alan Browne

Alan Browne (born 23 January 1974) is an Irish retired hurler who played for Cork Senior Championship club Blackrock. He played for the Cork senior hurling team for 9 years, during which time he usually lined out as a forward.

For the footballer named Alan Browne, see Alan Browne (footballer). For people named Alan Brown, see Alan Brown (disambiguation).

Alan Browne
Personal information
Irish name Alain de Brún
Sport Hurling
Position Left corner-forward
Born (1974-01-23) 23 January 1974
Blackrock, Cork, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Occupation Auctioneer
Club(s)*
Years Club Apps (scores)
1992–2011
 Blackrock 71 (33-219)
Club titles
Cork titles 3
Inter-county(ies)**
Years County Apps (scores)
1994–2003
 Cork 22 (9-17)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 3
All-Irelands 1
NHL 1
All Stars 0
* club appearances and scores correct as of 20:06, 31 January 2019.
**Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 20:06, 31 January 2019.

Browne began his hurling career at club level with Blackrock. He broke onto the club's top adult team straight out of the minor grade in 1992. One of the most prolific scorers of his era, Browne made 71 championship appearances for the club before his retirement in 2011 and was part of the Cork Senior Championship-winning teams of 1999, 2001 and 2002.

At inter-county level, Browne was part of the successful Cork under-21 team that won the Munster Championship in 1993. He joined the Cork senior team in 1994. From his debut, Browne was ever-present as an inside forward and made a combined total of 74 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in 2003. During that time he was part of the All-Ireland Championship-winning team in 1999. Browne also secured three Munster Championship medals, including one as captain, and a National Hurling League medal. Browne retired from inter-county hurling after Cork's defeat in the 2003 All-Ireland final.

At inter-provincial level, Browne was selected to play in three championship campaigns with Munster and won Railway Cup medals in 1996, 2000 and 2001. As a coach, he has served as a selector and joint-manager with the Blackrock senior team, while he was also a selector with the Cork under-21 team.

Early life

Browne was born in Cork and raised in the suburb of Blackrock to the east of the city. His eldest brother, Richard, won an All-Ireland Championship medal with Cork in 1986, while his younger brother, John, won All-Ireland Championship medals with Cork in 1999 and 2004.[1][2]

Playing career

Blackrock

Browne joined the Blackrock club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, however, he enjoyed little in terms of success. He made his senior championship debut in a 0-14 apiece draw with Valley Rovers on 12 July 1992.

On 1 November 1998, Browne lined out at full-forward in his first Cork Senior Championship final. He scored 1-01, however, Blackrock were defeated by reigning champions Imokilly.[3]

Browne lined out at full-forward in a second successive Cork Championship final on 31 October 1999. He scored 2-02, including a point from a free, in Blackrock's 3-17 to 0-08 defeat of University College Cork.[4]

After surrendering their title in 2000, Browne lined out in a third Cork Championship final on 6 October 2001. Imokilly provided the opposition, however, Browne gave a man of the match performance in the 4-08 to 2-07 victory.[5] His tally of 3-08 remains a modern scoring record for an individual player in a final. On 2 December, Browne scored four points in Blackrock's 2-14 to 0-12 defeat by Ballygunner in the Munster Championship final.[6]

On 15 September 2002, Browne scored 1-04 in Blackrock's 1-14 to 0-12 defeat of Newtownshandrum in the Cork Championship final.[7] It was his third and final winners' medal.

Blackrock qualified for a fifth Cork Championship final in six years on 12 October 2003. Newtownshandrum provided the opposition for the second year in succession, however, Browne was held scoreless in the 0-17 to 1-09 defeat.[8]

Under-21

Browne failed to make the Cork minor hurling team but came to prominence with the Cork under-21 side. He made his first appearance at left wing-forward on 24 June 1993 in a 4-10 to 2-14 defeat of Tipperary in the Munster Championship. On 23 July, he won a Munster Championship medal after Cork's 1-19 to 3-09 defeat of Limerick in the final. Browne played with the under-21 team for a further two years without success.

Senior

Browne was just eighteen-years-old when he made his first appearance for the Cork senior team on 9 October 1994. He scored a point on his debut in the 0-18 to 1-08 defeat of Limerick in the opening round of the National Hurling League. Browne was later selected at full-forward for Cork's 1-22 to 0-12 Munster Championship defeat of Kerry on 20 May 1995.

On 17 May 1998, Browne scored a goal from full-forward when Cork won the National League title following a 2-14 to 0-13 defeat of Waterford in the final at Semple Stadium.

In 1999 Browne was dropped from the starting fifteen but remained on the panel. On 4 July, he won his first Munster Championship medal after being introduced as a substitute in Cork's 1-15 to 0-14 defeat of reigning champions Clare in the final. On 11 September, Browne started on the bench for the All-Ireland final but was once again introduced as a substitute and scored a point in Cork's 0-12 to 0-11 defeat of Kilkenny.[9]

Browne started the 2000 Munster Championship on the bench, however, he came on as a substitute in Cork's first two games. On 3 July 2000, he was at left wing-forward for Cork's 0-23 to 3-12 defeat of Tipperary in the Munster final.[10]

On 29 November 2002, Browne and six of his teammates from the Cork hurling panel held a press conference at the Imperial Hotel to announce that all 30 members of the panel were withdrawing their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board.[11] He remained a high-profile representative at the negotiations over the following two weeks and was one of five players' representatives who agreed to a settlement with the county board on 13 December.[12]

Browne was appointed captain of the Cork senior team for the 2003 season. On 29 June, he scored 1-01 in Cork's 3-16 to 3-12 defeat of Waterford in the Munster final.[13] It was his third Munster Championship medal while he also had the honour of lifting the cup. On 14 September, he again captained the team from left corner-forward in Cork's 1-14 to 1-11 All-Ireland final defeat by Kilkenny. Browne, who was marked by Michael Kavanagh, was held scoreless.[14]

Inter-provincial

Browne also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling championship where he played alongside his championship rivals from Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and Waterford. He first played for his province in 1996. Browne collected his first Railway Cup winners' medal that year, albeit as a non-playing substitute, as Munster trounced Leinster by sixteen points. Four years later in 2000 he was a full member of the team. That year he won a second Railway Cup title, his first on the field of play, as Leinster were beaten once again. A third winners' medal quickly followed in 2001 as Connacht were accounted for.[15]

Career statistics

Club
Team Season Cork Munster All-Ireland Total
AppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Blackrock 1992-93 40-03——40-03
1993-94 20-05——20-05
1994-95 23-12——23-12
1995-96 22-01——22-01
1996-97 10-00——10-00
1997-98 42-10——42-10
1998-99 42-1422-07—64-21
1999-00 53-1610-05—63-21
2000-01 21-17——21-17
2001-02 55-2532-21—87-46
2002-03 54-1820-03—74-21
2003-04 43-05——43-05
2004-05 62-18——62-18
2005-06 41-15——41-15
2006-07 30-03——30-03
2007-08 31-08——31-08
2008-09 40-11——40-11
2009-10 10-01——10-01
2010-11 20-01——20-01
2011-12 00-00——00-00
Career total 6329-18384-36—7133-219

Inter-county
Team Year National League Munster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Cork 1994-95 Division 1 85-0322-03—107-06
1995-96 74-0311-01—85-04
1997 Division 2 74-1010-02—84-12
1998 Division 1B 74-0421-01—95-05
1999 31-0220-0020-0271-04
2000 30-0831-0410-0171-13
2001 53-0511-02—64-07
2002 40-1600-0021-0061-16
2003 87-0821-0131-02139-11
Career total 5228-59147-1482-057437-78

Honours
Blackrock
Cork
Munster

References
  1. Crowe, Dermot (31 August 2003). "Who dares to speak of '99?". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  2. "Expert view: Alan Browne interview". Hogan Stand. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  3. O'Connor, Christy (21 October 2017). "Even in Cork county hurling finals tradition is no guarantee of success". Evening Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. "Brilliant Cashman puts 'Rock on roll". Irish Independent. 1 November 1999. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  5. "Browne bomber is 'Rock hero". Irish Independent. 8 October 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  6. Breheny, Martin (3 December 2001). "Ballygunner finally scale club heights". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  7. O'Sullivan, Jim (16 September 2002). "Cork SHC final :Browne goal decisive as Rockies retain title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  8. Breheny, Martin (13 October 2003). "Classy Newtown record revenge". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. "Championship Flashback: All-Ireland SHC final, September 1999". Irish Independent. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. "Cork reach new heights to keep provincial crown". The Corkman. 8 July 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  11. "Cork hurlers to strike". Breaking News. 29 November 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  12. Moran, Seán (14 December 2002). "Cork hurlers strike comes to late finish". Irish Times. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  13. "Mullane unable to part Cork's red sea". Irish Independent. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. O'Sullivan, Jim (15 September 2003). "Kilkenny stand firm under Cork onslaught". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  15. "Munster Railway Cup Hurling Teams". Munster GAA. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
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