Gaelic Games

Former Galway All Ireland-winning hurler Michael Coleman dies in accident while clearing storm debris

Coleman (61), who won the 1988 All-Ireland with Galway, died after incident near home in Crumlin

Michael Coleman is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Sinead and son Dara. Photograph: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Inpho
Michael Coleman is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Sinead and son Dara. Photograph: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Inpho
John Fallon
Sat Feb 08 2025 - 13:12

A former All Ireland-winning hurler has died in an incident in Co Galway while cleaning up storm debris near his home.

Michael Coleman, who won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1988, died following the incident near his home in Crumlin, Ballyglunin.

The 61-year-old was heavily involved in a variety of community events, including sport, the church, senior citizens’ group and a host of other local activities.

His neighbour and friend Peter Roche TD said the community is in shock.

READ SOME MORE

“He was one of the finest people I have ever met. He was non-stop doing things for the community. It’s incredible to be even talking about him in the past tense,” Mr Roche said.

“He epitomised everything and anything you would want in a person. He organised everything, he was a doer. Nobody could say ‘no’ to him, yet he always stayed in the background. He would look for progress reports, he would drive people on but he never looked for credit or for glory.”

Mr Coleman is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Sinéad and son Dara.

Last week Sinéad was the recipient of a camogie All Star award in Galway following her exploits for Abbeyknockmoy in 2024, while Dara has been a prominent member of the club hurling team in recent years.

In 2009 his sister Ann, a former Galway camogie player, died along with her husband Joe O’Connell, a former Kerry hurler, in a car crash in Iowa in the United States.

Mr Coleman emerged on the scene as a hurler when he won an All-Ireland under-21 medal in 1983. In 1987 he played in midfield when Galway defeated Clare to win the league title but by September he was only a spectator on Hill 16 when they won the All-Ireland title against Kilkenny, having been dropped for the championship.

The following year he played a starring role at midfield when Galway retained the All-Ireland title against Tipperary and went on to enjoy more than a decade on the county senior side.

He followed up that 1988 All-Ireland win by inspiring Abbeyknockmoy later that year when they won their first and only Galway senior hurling title, pipping holders Athenry by a point in a replay.

Coleman won the first of his three All-Star awards the following season in 1989, and was also honoured in 1990 and in 1995. In 1996 he captained Galway to a league final win over Tipperary, when he collected his third medal in the grade.