James Doyle (20 March 1939 – 22 June 2015) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Tipperary senior team.
Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Doyle first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of fourteen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team. He made his senior debut in the 1957–58 National League. Doyle went on to play a key part for Tipperary during a hugely successful era for the team, and won six All-Ireland medals, nine Munster medals and seven National Hurling League medals. An All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions, Doyle also captained the team to All-Ireland victory in 1962 and 1965.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team for twelve years, Doyle won eight Railway Cup medals. At club level, he won ten championship medals with Thurles Sarsfield's.
At the time of his retirement Doyle's career tally of 18 goals and 176 points ranked him as Tipperary's all-time top scorer. It was a record which stood until 24 June 2007 when it was surpassed by Eoin Kelly.
His father, Gerry, his uncle, Tommy, and his brother, Paddy Doyle, also enjoyed All-Ireland success with Tipperary.
Throughout his career, Doyle made 39 championship appearances. His retirement came following Tipperary's defeat by Limerick in the 1973 championship.
In retirement from playing Doyle became involved in team management and coaching. At club level, he guided Portlaoise to championship success before later taking charge of the Laois senior team.
Doyle is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game. During his playing days, he won three Cú Chulainn awards, as well as being named Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1965. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at right corner-forward on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and at left corner-forward on the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.
Playing career
College
Doyle attended Thurles CBS and enjoyed some success.
In 1956 he played a key part for the college in the provincial championship. A 2–5 to 2–3 defeat of the North Monastery, Cork gave Doyle a Harty Cup medal.
Club
Doyle played his club hurling with Thurles Sarsfield's and enjoyed much success in a career that spanned three decades.
He first came to prominence as a member of the club's minor hurling team, winning four championship medals in a row between 1954 and 1957.
By 1956 Doyle, as a sixteen-year-old, joined the Thurles Sarsfield's senior team. It was a successful debut season, as he won his first championship medal following a 3–8 to 1–4 defeat of Lorrha. It was a hugely successful era for Doyle and Sarsfield's, as he added further championship medals to his collection in 1957, following a 4–14 to 4–4 defeat of southern "combo" Na Piarsaigh, and in 1958 as Toomevara were downed by 4–11 to 3–3.
Doyle won a fourth successive championship medal in 1959 as Kilruane MacDonagh's were defeated by 3–12 to 2–6, in spite of both teams being on level terms with just ten minutes remaining.
Thurles Sarfield's great run of success came to an end in 1960, however, in spite of facing defeat on the furling field, Doyle won a championship medal with the Thurles Croke's football team following their defeat of Clonmel Commercials.
While many thought that Thurles Sarsfield's were now in decline as a hurling power, the team bounced back in 1961. A 3–4 to 0–9 defeat of Toomevara gave Doyle his fifth championship medal. It was the beginning of another glorious era for the team, as further defeats of Moycarkey-Borris in 1962, Roscrea in 1963 and Holycross-Ballycahill in 1964 brought Doyle's championship medal tally to eight.
In 1965 Doyle's side had the chance to make history by winning a record-equalling fifth successive championship. Carrick Davins provided the opposition and took Sarsfield's to a replay. A 3–11 to 2–7 victory at the second time of asking gave Doyle a ninth championship medal.
Almost a decade passed before Doyle, who by now was captain of the team, enjoyed one final success. A 3–6 to 1–10 defeat of Silvermines gave him a remarkable tenth championship medal.
Minor
Doyle was just fifteen years old when he made his debut the Tipperary minor hurling team as a goalkeeper on 20 June 1954 in a 6-5 to 0-1 Munster semi-final defeat of Clare. Later that year he collected his first Munster medal following a 3–5 to 2–3 defeat of Limerick Limerick. The subsequent All-Ireland final on 5 September 1954 saw Dublin provide the opposition, however, Tipperary were defeated by 2–7 to 2–3.
It was after this defeat that Doyle hinted that he wanted to be moved from the position of goalkeeper to a more favoured position in the forward line. His wish was granted and he won a second consecutive Munster medal in 1955 following an 8–11 to 2–5 trouncing of Waterford. Doyle later appeared in a second All-Ireland final on 4 September 1955 with Galway providing the opposition. His move to the forward line was a worthwhile venture as he scored a remarkable 2–8. Tipperary won the game by 5–15 to 2–5 giving Doyle an All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship medal.
In 1956 Doyle collected a third successive Munster medal as Waterford were downed once again on a 10–10 to 4–4 score line. On 23 September 1956 Tipperary faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. A 4–16 to 1–5 trouncing, with Doyle contributing 2-3, secured his second successive All-Ireland medal.
Doyle was appointed captain of the Tipperary minor team in 1957, in what was his last year in the grade. A 3–8 to 1–4 defeat of Limerick gave him a record fourth successive Munster medal. For the second year in a row, Kilkenny provided the opposition in the All-Ireland final. In a close game, Tipperary eventually triumphed by 4–7 to 3–7. The victory gave Doyle a record-breaking third successive All-Ireland medal as well as the honour of accepting the cup
Senior
First victories
Doyle was still in the minor grade when he joined the Tipperary senior team for the 1956–57 National Hurling League. It was a successful campaign as Doyle collected a National Hurling League medal following a 3–11 to 2–7 defeat of Kilkenny in the decider. He made his senior championship debut, while still captain of the minor team, in a 5-2 to 1-11 Munster semi-final defeat by Cork on 30 June 1957.
In 1958 Doyle won his first Munster medal as Tipperary regained the provincial crown following a 4–12 to 1–5 trouncing of reigning champions Waterford. Tipperary later defeated Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, with Doyle giving a master class by scoring 1-8, before lining out against Galway in the All-Ireland decider on 7 September 1958. Galway got a bye into the final without picking up a hurley. Liam Devaney, Donie Nealon and Larry Keane all scored goals for Tipperary in the first-half, while Tony Wall sent a seventy-yard free untouched to the Galway net. Tipperary won the game by 4–9 to 2–5 giving Doyle his first All-Ireland medal. He also ended the championship as the top scorer with 2–23.
Doyle won a second National League medal in 1959 following a 0–15 to 0–7 defeat of Waterford, however, Tipperary subsequently surrendered their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in remarkable fashion to the same opposition.
Tipperary asserted their dominance in 1960 by retaining the National League title with a 2–15 to 3–8 defeat of Cork. It was Doyle's third winners' medal in that competition. He later won a second Munster medal, contributing 1–8, following a narrow 4–13 to 4–11 defeat of Cork in what has been described as the toughest game of hurling ever played. This victory allowed Tipperary to advance directly to an All-Ireland final meeting with Wexford on 4 September 1960. A certain amount of over-confidence was obvious in the Tipperary camp, particularly in trainer Phil Purcell's comment that no player was capable of marking Jimmy Doyle. The game ended in remarkable circumstances as the crowd invaded the pitch with a minute to go, mistaking the referee's whistle for the end of the game. When the crowd were finally moved off the pitch Tipperary continued playing with only twelve men, but Wexford won on a score line of 2–15 to 0–11. It was Doyle's first All-Ireland defeat, however, he still ended the season as the championship's top scorer. He later won his first Oireachtas medal following a 4-11 to 2-10 defeat of old rivals Cork in the decider.
Total dominance
1961 saw Doyle collect a fourth National League medal following a 6–6 to 4–9 defeat of Waterford. He later added a third Munster medal to his collection, as Cork were downed once again by 3–6 to 0–7. The game was not without incident as Doyle's ankle was broken following a wild stroke from Jimmy Brohan. He was an immediate doubt for the All-Ireland final as the ankle was reluctantly put in plaster. Doyle walked several miles every evening to strengthen the broken bone, however, when the plaster was removed the ankle was still badly discoloured and swollen. On the Wednesday prior to the All-Ireland final, he failed a fitness test and was a doubt for the game. On 3 September 1961, Dublin provided the opposition in the All-Ireland decider and Doyle was named in the starting fifteen. Prior to the match, he received two injections on either side of his ankle that deadened the leg from his toes to his knee. The treatment was risky as Doyle would have no way of knowing if his ankle broke. He received two more injections at half time, however, towards the end of the game his ankle did give way but he couldn't be replaced as Tipperary had used all of their substitutes. The game itself was a close run thing, however, Tipperary held on to win by 0–16 to 1–12. It was Doyle's second All-Ireland medal, while he finished the championship as top scorer once again. He later won a second successive Oireachtas medal following a 2-13 to 3-4 defeat of Wexford in a replay.
In 1962 Tipperary were still the kingpins of Munster as Doyle was appointed captain of the team. A 5–14 to 2–3 trouncing of Waterford in the decider gave him a fourth Munster medal. Tipperary's nemesis of two years earlier, Wexford, waited in Croke Park to test them once again in the subsequent All-Ireland final on 2 September 1962. Wexford, however, were not the force of old and the side got off to possibly the worst start ever by a team in a championship decider. After just ninety seconds the Leinster champions were down by two goals, however, the game turned out to be much closer than people expected. Tipperary eventually secured the win on a score line of 3–10 to 2–11, however, Doyle had to be stretchered off the field with a fractured collarbone. As a result of this he was denied the opportunity of collecting the Liam MacCarthy Cup. For the third year in-a-row he ended the campaign as the championship's top scorer.
In spite of being denied by Waterford in their quest for a third successive All-Ireland title, Doyle won a third Oireachtas medal in 1963 following a 4-15 to 3-12 defeat of Wexford. His performances throughout the year also earned him a Cú Chulainn award.