Club Achievements

Achievments

All-Ireland senior hurling 1958
All-Ireland minor hurling 1949
North Tipp, Senior hurling 1957, 1964
North Tipp, Minor hurling 1949
American Junior hurling 1952
American 3rd brigade 1952
New York SHC 1952
Croke cup 1960
London intermediate hurling 1961
London senior league 1962

Johnny McGrath was born in 1932 at Pound Street Nenagh. In his youth he attended Nenagh CBS and was a member of the Harty Cup side for two years in the late 1940’s. He played minor for Nenagh Eire Og for four years and won three north minor medals and two football medals playing at center forward. He played with the 1949 senior team when they were narrowly beaten by Roscrea. Playing at left wing back, He won a minor All-Ireland with Tipperary in 1949 when they beat Kilkenny. He emigrated to the United States in 1950 where he played with Tipperary for a number of years and won three championships. He returned to England in 1954 and played with St Finbarr’s in Coventry with whom he won two English Championships.

On returning to Nenagh in 1956, he won two North senior medals with Nenagh in 1957 against Toomevara at full forward and in 1964 against Roscrea at full back. He was a member of the of the Tipperary senior hurling team from 1958 to 1960 and won both a national league playing at wing back and a senior medal playing at full forward in 1958. He retired from hurling in 1967 at the age of 35.

Johnny McGrath was a fearless and courageous hurler. When at full forward, he was the conductor of the orchestra and when full back he controlled his area and acted as protector in chief of his goalkeeper and younger team mates. He was a powerfully build man who could more than hold his own under the dropping ball. Favoring the first time pull, in one particular match he took a drop shot at an opposition puck out and dispatched the ball back over the opposition bar. In a league match with Tipperary he once scored a truly spectacular goal when despite having his back to goal and a defender wrapped around him, he still managed to double a dropping ball to the net as he was wrestled over backwards.

A class act, who had all the requsiute skills to function as a back or a forward, his favorite playing position was the half back line. The best hurler he encountered was Sean Clohessy of Kilkenny and Terry Leahy who played with Kilkenny in New York. His most memorable game was the 1964 North final and his biggest regret was in losing the 1949 North final by two points. While “The Digger” was his favorite selector, his sweetest victory was Pound street beating Islandbawn in a street league final !