Séamus "Cheddar" Plunkett (born 1961) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-forward for the senior Laois county team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Pluincéid | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-forward | ||
| Born |
1961 Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland | ||
| Nickname | Cheddar | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Portlaoise | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Laois titles | 7 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1980–1988 | Laois | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 0 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 2 | ||
Plunkett made his first appearance for the team during the 1980-81 National League and was a semi-regular member of the starting fifteen until he left the panel after the 1988 championship. During that time he had little success.
At club level Plunkett is a seven-time county club championship medalist with Portlaoise.
In retirement from playing Plunkett became involved in team management. He served as a selector and manager with Portlaoise and various Laois underage teams, before first taking over as manager of the Laois senior hurling team in 2012.[1]
Playing career
editClub
editPlunkett played his club hurling with Portlaoise and had a lengthy career.
Having lost the 1980 championship decider to Camross, both sides met again the following year's final. In a thrilling game Portlaoise denied Camross a sixth successive county title. It was the first of four successive championships for Plunkett and Portlaoise.
Five-in-a-row proved beyond Portlaoise as Camross defeated Plunkett's side by just a single point in 1985.[2]
Two years later Portlaoise were back as the kingpins of county hurling. A 2-13 to 1-5 trouncing of Clonad gave Plunkett his fifth championship medal.
After surrendering their title the following year, Portlaoise faced off against Camross again in 1989. A thrilling draw was followed by a 0-12 to 1-4 victory for Portlaoise. It was Plunkett's sixth championship medal.
Camross got the better of Portlaoise again in 1990, however, Plunkett's side reached a fifth successive championship decider in 1991. A defeat of Clonad gave Plunkett his seventh and final championship medal.
Inter-county
editPlunkett made his senior debut for Laois in a National Hurling League game against Kilkenny during the 1980–81 campaign. It was a winning debut as Plunkett contributed 1-1 in a five-point defeat of "the Cats". Plunkett was a regular during Laois's various National League campaigns throughout the 1980s; however, he had little success in the championship.[citation needed]
Managerial career
editLaois
editPlunkett was ratified as manager of the Laois senior team on 18 December 2012.[3] His first National League campaign in charge saw Laois suffer just one defeat in the group stage before winning the Division 2A final and promotion to Division 1B following a 3-14 to 1-9 defeat of Westmeath.[4] Plunkett's side later nearly pulled off a shock defeat of reigning Leinster champions Galway in the provincial semi-final.[5]
Laois's 2014 league campaign saw Plunkett's side preserve their position in Division 1B before narrowly losing to Clare at the quarter-final stage.[6] For the second year in succession Laois nearly pulled off a shock victory over Galway, however, Plunkett's side eventually lost by two points.[7]
In 2015 Laois enjoyed a mixed league campaign but eventually survived in a relegation battle with Antrim.[8] On 28 May 2015 Plunkett announced his resignation as manager after two of his panel members played a club game against the wishes of management.[9] He later reversed his decision and returned as manager less than a week later.[10]
Plunkett succeeded Eddie Brennan as Laois manager when Brennan resigned in November 2020, beginning a second spell in charge, with Laois proposing him in December 2020 and confirming the appointment on 1 February 2021.https://www.skysports.com/gaa/hurling/news/30554/12154736/laois-re-appoint-seamus-cheddar-plunkett-as-senior-hurling-manager[11] He announced his departure in June 2022.[12]
Kilkenny (club)
editIn November 2022, it was announced that Plunkett had taken over as manager of Kilkenny intermediate club St Martin's.[13]
Personal life
editPlunkett's nickname is "Cheddar", which stems from his schooldays in Portlaoise.[14]
Honours
editPlayer
edit- Portlaoise
- Laois Senior Hurling Championship (1): 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991
Manager
edit- Laois
References
edit- ^ "Plunkett to manage Laois hurlers". Hogan Stand. Lynn Group Media. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Laois hurling finals since 1984". Laois GAA. Archived from the original on 16 May 2003. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Plunkett ratified in O'Moore County". Hogan Stand. Lynn Group Media. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Brophy double KO's Westmeath". Hogan Stand. Lynn Group Media. 14 April 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Diarmuid O'Flynn (17 June 2013). "Canning gets Galway out of jail". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Laois impress Davy but Clare experience counts". Irish Examiner. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Galway swoop late to deny brave Laois a famous win". Independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Laois victory relegates Antrim to play-off for survival". Irish Examiner. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Cóilín Duffy (28 May 2015). "'Cheddar' Plunkett resigns as Laois hurling manager for personal reasons". Independent.ie. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "He's back! Seamus 'Cheddar' Plunkett returns as Laois senior hurling manager". Independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Plunkett rubber-stamped as Laois manager". Hogan Stand. 1 February 2021.
- ^ "Cheddar Plunkett steps down as Laois manager". The42.ie. 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Swift return to management for 'Cheddar' Plunkett". Hogan Stand. 10 November 2022.
- ^ Michael Foley (30 May 2014). "Great Cheddar". The Times. Times Newspapers. Retrieved 15 July 2019.(subscription required)