Patrick Oliver Walsh, - Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland.
N 52° 31.367 W 007° 08.274
29U E 626333 N 5820815
Patrick Oliver Walsh, better known as Ollie Walsh, was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1956 until 1972 Rated As Kilkenny's Greatest Ever Goalkeeper.
Waymark Code: WM110JD
Location: Leinster, Ireland
Date Posted: 07/24/2019
Views: 1
A lifesize bronze sculpture of Ollie Walsh stands on a low stone plinth inscribed with the name of the legendary, Oliver (Ollie) Walsh and the years 1937 - 1996.
He stands wearing a sports shirt, shorts, long socks, and studded boots, posed with his hurley* in his hands, ready to fend off the opposing team, and their attempt at scoring a goal.
*A hurley is a wooden stick measuring between 70 and 100 cm (26 to 40 inches) long with a flattened, curved end (called the bas), used to hit a sliotar (leather ball) in the Irish sport of hurling.
"Ollie Walsh’s daring sporting trademarks are legenedary. A devastating sidestep, fearless in plucking the sliothar from the clouds, midst marauding forwards, and in era when the No. 14 almost stood on his toes under the posts, and his long raking clearances. These attributes belong to only one famous hurling goalkeeper.
Born in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ollie’s inter - county career spanned seventeen years, from minor to senior hurling ranks.
His sporting fame had no boundaries. Goalkeepers in the 50's and 60's had to be brave and very strong to survive. In-rushing forwards could legitimately, put ball and goalie in the back of the net, in one foul swoop. For goalkeepers to excel and become feared in their own right, was the privilege of very few and Ollie Walsh was the real deal.
His rise to fame began with a Leinster minor hurling medal in 1955 followed by his first senior All Ireland victory in 1957. From 1957 to 1972 he won another four senior All Irelands. In 1967 he was acclaimed The Texaco Hurler Of The Year.
All Star awards and many more recognitions were proudly collected and at club level, one of his main mementoes was a junior county hurling championship title in 1962, and a senior county football medal with Graignamanagh, in 1956.
As a hurling coach Ollie holds the unique and distinguished accolade of winning All Ireland championship titles at junior, intermediate and senior grades. He also coached Kilkenny to a National Hurling League title. A glorious title, dear to his heart, occured when he coached his beloved Thomastown, to win the county intermediate hurling championship in 1983.
Ollie Walsh died at the relatively young age of fifty nine and his legacy to hurling is enshrined in our history books.
Beannacht Dé Leat - Ollie Walsh" Text Source: (
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