Darach Honan

Darach Honan (born 21 March 1990 in Clonlara, County Clare, Ireland) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Clonlara and was a member of the Clare senior inter-county team from 2010 until 2017.^[1]

Darach Honan

Personal information
Irish name	Darach Ó hEoghanáin
Sport	Hurling
Position	Full-forward
Born	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 34) Clonlara, County Clare, Ireland
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Occupation	Financial Advisor
Club(s)
Years	Club
2007-present	Clonlara
Club titles
Clare titles	1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2010-2017	Clare	13 (5-21)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	0
All-Irelands	1
NHL	1
All Stars	0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 23:54, 6 September 2012.

Early life

Born in Clonlara, County Clare, Honan is the son of Colm Honan, a former Clare hurler, and Máire Ní Ghráda, an academic and native of Cork.^[2] Honan was educated at the local national school before attending Ard Scoil Rís in Limerick. Here he concentrated on basketball and enjoyed much success at All-Ireland level with the school. Honan subsequently studied at University College Cork.^[3]

Playing career

Club

Honan plays his club hurling with Clonlara and has enjoyed much success. In 2008 he was just out of the minor grade when Clonlara lined out against Newmarket-on-Fergus in the final of the county senior championship. On that occasion Clonlara ended an 89-year wait to claim the championship with a 1-12 to 1-9 win.^[4]

Inter-county

Honan first played hurling for Clare as a member of the county's minor team. He enjoyed little success in this grade but later became a key member of the Clare under-21 side. In 2009 Clare made history by winning the Munster title in that grade for the very first time. Honan's side later played in the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny, claiming a narrow 0-15 to 0-14 victory and a very first All-Ireland under-21 title.^[5] Honan was later named the inaugural Bord Gáis Energy Breakthrough Player of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

Honan made his senior championship debut for Clare in a Munster semi-final clash against Waterford in 2010. In spite of being beaten Honan scored an impressive 1-3 on his debut. Honan came on as a sub against Cork and scored Clare's fifth goal in the 2013 All-Ireland Hurling final replay played at Croke Park as Clare won their fourth All Ireland senior title.

In October 2017, Honan announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.^[6]

Honours

• 1 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2013
• 1 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship 2009
• 1 Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship 2009
• 1 National Hurling League Division 1B 2012

Individual

• Bord Gáis Under-21 Player of the Year: 2013

References

1. "Darach Honan: Standing Tall". Fired Up. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
2. "Máire Ní Ghráda". Armagh pipers. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
3. "Up Close and Personal with...Darach Honan". GAA website. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
4. "Madden's sharp shooting brings 89-year Clonlara famine to an end". Irish Independent. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
5. "Last-gasp O'Donovan makes it a Clare day at Croker". Irish Examiner. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
6. "2013 All-Ireland final goalscorer announces retirement from Clare hurling duty at just 27". The 42. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.