Greg Blaney

Greg Blaney is an Irish dual player who played Gaelic football and hurling for Down in the 1980s and 1990s. He was part of the Down team that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1991 and 1994.[1] Blaney won three Ulster Senior Football Championships[2] and a National League title with Down and won three All Star awards during his career.[2] He also had a distinguished underage career with the county - winning Ulster Minor, Ulster Under 21 and All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship medals.

Greg Blaney
Personal information
Sport Dual player
Football Position: Centre half forward
Hurling Position: Centre half forward
Born Kircubbin County Down
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Nickname Heggy
Occupation Dentist
Club(s)
Years Club
Carryduff (F)
Ballycran (H)
Club titles
  Football Hurling
Down titles 1 8
Ulster titles 0 1
All-Ireland titles 0 0
College titles
Sigerson titles 1
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
1981-1997[2]
1985-1993
 Down (F)
Down (H)
Inter-county titles
  Football Hurling
Ulster Titles 3 1
All-Ireland Titles 2 0
League titles 1 2 (Div 3)
All-Stars 3 0

In football, he usually played at centre half forward.[3] He was a brilliant reader of the game.[3] He was renowned for his vision,[4] ball-winning[1] and play-making abilities.[1][5] His excellent passing skills[1] set up countless chances for teammates.[3] His understanding with Down corner forward Mickey Linden has been described as "near telepathic".[1] It has been said that he made the Down "attack tick with his shrewd play and inventiveness".[5] Blaney was also able to score himself.[3]

Blaney is a legend in Down GAA circles,[5] and is known as one of the county's best ever footballers.[3] In 2009 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association he was named by The Irish News as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster.[1]

As a hurler with Down, Blaney won Ulster Minor and Ulster Senior Hurling Championship medals.

Background

Blaney is from Kircubbin in the Ards Peninsula, County Down, where hurling is undoubtedly the game of choice. He however is a member of the famous Blaney family, a renowned Gaelic Games family in county Down. Keeping with his family traditions, Blaney attended school at St. Colman's College in Newry, a famed gaelic football institution known Ireland-wide. This was the beginning of his footballing career, one which he later enhanced whilst attending[6] Queens University Belfast.[6]

His father Seán captained Armagh to Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Football Championship glory in 1949.[6]

He has six brothers and one sister.He is married with six children and currently lives in Belfast.

Football career

Club

Blaney's club is Ballycran. He played club football for a period with Carryduff as Ballycran had no football team. He won many underage honours with Ballycran including a Feile na nGael Hurling and played in the National Feile in Limerick. He won numerous Down Senior Hurling Championships alongside his brothers and childhood friends. Ballycran started a football team winning Down ACFL Division 4 and progressing into Division 3. It was as a Ballycran footballer that he won the All-Ireland in 1991 with Down. While with Carryduff, his first year playing for the club's Senior team was 1978[1][7] at the age of only 15.[7] He helped the club win the Down Junior Football Championship in 1986.[6]

Inter-county

Blaney played for the Down Minor team for three years and won the Ulster Minor Football Championship with them in 1977 & 1979.[1] In 1979 at the age of just 16,[1] he was part of the Down Under 21 team that won the Ulster Under 21 and All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championships.[1]

Blaney joined the Down Senior panel in 1981.[2] That year, while only 18 years old,[2] he won his first Ulster Senior Football Championship medal with the county.[1] Two years later he helped Down win the National Football League.[1] He also received an All Star award for his performances that year.[1] Blaney and Down reached the 1986 Ulster final, but were beaten by Tyrone.[2]

In 1991 Down again won the Ulster Championship, beating Donegal in the decider. Down defeated Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final, before beating Meath in the All-Ireland final. The success was Down's first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title since 1968.[1] Blaney also won a second All-Star that year.[1]

Blaney won a third Ulster Championship medal with Down in 1994.[2] Victories over Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and Dublin in the final gave Blaney another All-Ireland Senior medal. Once again he was honoured for hs performances that year with an All-Star.[1]

Blaney lined out in another Ulster final two years later, but Down lost to Tyrone.[2] He retired from inter-county football in 1997.[2] Blaney is one of a couple of players that have won Ulster Senior Hurling and Football

School/college

While at St. Colman's Blaney was part of probably the best college team Ulster has certainly seen and with respect to Ireland we will never know. Between Blaney's 1st year in 1974 and last in 1981, the team went undefeated through league and knockout stages in the various age category competitions. Winning Dalton Cup(74/75)(Blaney captain), Corn na nOg(76/77), Rannefast(78/79) and MacRory Cup(1981). Unfortunately, this team never had the chance to test their mettle on the Irish stage. In this era the only All-Ireland football competition was the final school year but the disparity between school leaving age in Ulster and the other three provinces meant a misalignment of the competition ages. So in 1981, having qualified for the then only All-Ireland college competition, the Hogan Cup, but with the age disparity between Ulster's MacRory (U18 1/2) and the other 3 provinces, Blaney and half a dozen colleagues from this undefeated team were deemed ineligible for the Hogan Cup (U18).

Blaney's honours while at St. Colman's included helping the school win three MacRory Cups[1] (1978, 1979 and 1981[6]). In 1978 they went on to reach the Hogan Cup final, but they were beaten by St. Jarlath's College, Tuam. In 1949, St. Colman's were captained by Greg's father Sean Blaney, who also captained them to success in 1950 - a feat only equalled by Dermot McNicholl (1983 and 1984). In 1981 final, the captain of the winning St. Colman's team was none other than Greg Blaney, son of Sean.

Sean and Greg are the only father/son combination to captain winning MacRory Cup teams.

As a fresher, Blaney was top-scorer when Queens University Belfast won the Sigerson Cup in 1982.[6] He also won the Ryan Cup[6] on two occasions with QUB (1984 and 1985). In 1999, he was named a "Sporting Great" of the university.[8] He is also a patron of QUB's GAA academy.[8]

Province

Blaney played for Ulster on many occasions. He won the Railway Cup five times with the province[1][6] (between 1983 and 1995[6]).

International

Blaney played Compromise rules football for Ireland against Australia in 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1990.[6]

Hurling career

Club

Blaney's club is Ballycran, and he played club football for a period with Carryduff as Ballycran had no football team. He won many underage honours with Ballycran including a Feile na nGael Hurling and played in the National Feile in Limerick. He won numerous Down Senior Hurling Championships alongside his brothers and childhood friends. Ballycran started a football team winning Down ACFL Division 4 and progressing into Division 3. It was as a Ballycran footballer that he won the All-Ireland in 1991 with Down. Blaney played in Antrim Senior Hurling League Division 1 with Ballycran in an era where no quarter was given or asked against teams such as Cushendall, Loughgiel, Ballycastle and fierce local rivals Ballygalget and Portaferry.

Inter-county

Blaney represented Down hurlers at Minor, Under 21 and Senior level.[6] In 1978 he won an Ulster Minor Hurling Championship medal with the county.[6]

He was part of the Down side that won the 1992 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship[6] - the county's first since 1941.

After retiring

Blaney served as a selector with the Down Senior football team when former teammate Paddy O'Rourke was manager.[2] He was appointed to the role in July 2002.[5] In 2003 Down reached the Ulster final, where they faced Tyrone.[2] Blaney is a fitness fanatic, a keen handballer and has been competing in triathlons for the past number of years. On 9 January 2012, Blaney was appointed a manager of his local club where he resides, St Brigids GAC.

Honours

Club

There are 7 available Down All-County Senior League Medals Available - 3 in hurling and 4 in football. Blaney has a record number of league medals, a feat that may never be equalled. Blaney has won all medals, save for the Division 1 ACFL. He has won the following:

  • Down ACHL Division 1 Hurling League
  • Down ACHL Division 2 Hurling League
  • Down ACHL Division 3 Hurling League
  • Down Junior Football Championship (1) 1986
  • Down AFL Division 4 Football League (1) 1990
  • Down AFL Division 3 Football League (1) 1980
  • Down AFL Division 2 Football League (1) 198?
  • Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship (1) 1993
  • Down Senior Hurling Championship (8) 1980 1984 1985 1986 1987 1993 1994 1995

Senior

Under-21

Minor

School/college

Province

Ireland

Individual
  • All Star (3) 1983 1991 1994
  • Irish News Ulster All-Stars (1) 1996
  • In May 2020, the Irish Independent named Blaney as one of the "dozens of brilliant players" who narrowly missed selection for its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".[9]

References
  1. "Ulster's 125 - The province's 125 best footballers since 1884". The Irish News. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  2. McSherry, Ronan (5 June 2008). "Mourne great Blaney recalls some past Red Hand tussles". The Strabane Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  3. "Ulster's 125 - Down shortlist". The Irish News. February 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  4. "Dream team for Down?". BBC Sport Online. 10 June 2002. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  5. "Greg Blaney becomes new Down selector". Down GAA website. 10 July 2002. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  6. "QUB Hall of Fame". Queens University Belfast GAA website. 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  7. "A Short Club History". Carryduff GAC website. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  8. "A Landmark Year – 75th Anniversary of the GAA at Queen's". Queens University Belfast GAA website. 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  9. Breheny, Martin (30 May 2020). "Revealed: The Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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