Eddie Brennan

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Eddie Brennan
irish = Éamonn Ó Braonáin
fullname = Eddie Brennan
placeofbirth = Ballycallan
countryofbirth = County Kilkenny
occupation=Garda Síochána
bday=2
bmonth=10
byear= 1978
dyear=
dday=
dmonth=
feet= 5
inches= 11
nickname = Speed Merchant
county = Kilkenny
province = Leinster
club = Graigue-Ballycallan
clposition = Forward
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Kilkenny
icposition = Right corner-forward
icyears = 2000-present
icapps(points) = 37 (22-58)
icprovince = 8
icallireland = 6
nhl = 3
allstars = 3
clupdate=
icupdate=8 September, 2008

Eddie Brennan (born 2 October, 1978) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Graigue-Ballycallan and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2000.

Playing career

Club

Brennan plays his club hurling with the famous Graigue-Ballycallan club in Kilkenny. He enjoyed much success at underage levels, winning minor and under-21 county medals. Brennan has also won two senior county championship medals in 1998 and 2000. He has also won county minor and under-21 medals as a Gaelic footballer.

Inter-county

In the mid-1990s Brennan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He won back-to-back Leinster titles in this grade, however, an All-Ireland medal eluded him. Brennan later joined the county’s under-21 team where he won further provincial honours. He also won a coveted All-Ireland medal at this grade in 1999. Brennan made his senior debut for Kilkenny in 2000 and he quickly captured his first Leinster title as Kilkenny steamrolled Offaly in the provincial final. The two sides later met in the All-Ireland final, however, two goals from Henry Shefflin and an injury-time goal from substitute Brennan helped ‘the Cats’ to secure a huge victory in one of the most one-sided finals in decades. As well as securing the victory he also secured a first All-Ireland medal. In 2001 Brennan added a second successive Leinster medal to his collection as Kilkenny completely overpowered Wexford in the final. After such a huge win ‘the Cats’ were hot favourites to retain the title, however, Kilkenny were outsmarted by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. ‘The Cats’ bounced back in 2002 with Brennan claiming a first National Hurling League medal. He subsequently claimed yet another Leinster title before later lining out in a second All-Ireland final. Clare, who were defeated in the first-round of the Munster championship but had made it to the final via the newly introduced qualifier system, put up a good fight. A combined tally of 2-13 for both Henry Shefflin and D.J. Carey gave Kilkenny a seven-point victory and secured a second All-Ireland title for Brennan.

In 2003 Brennan captured a second National League title before later winning a fourth consecutive Leinster medal. Kilkenny later faced Cork in an exciting and close All-Ireland final. The Leinstermen never lead by more than four-points and only secured victory with a late Martin Comerford goal. Brennan won his third All-Ireland medal that day and he was later honoured with an All-Star award. In 2004 Kilkenny were aiming for an unprecedented third All-Ireland victory in-a-row, however, the team was now under severe pressure from all quarters. For the first time in seven years Kilkenny failed in their bid to become Leinster champions as a last-gasp Wexford goal ended an almost unprecedented run of success. Kilkenny took the scenic route via the qualifiers system, however, after a scare against Clare they still reached the All-Ireland final. Once again Cork provided the opposition on a gloomy and overcast day. The sides were level for much of the game, however, in the final twenty minutes Cork scored nine points without reply and secured the victory. Kilkenny ended the year with no silverware. Kilkenny were back in form in 2005 with Brennan adding a third National League medal to his ever-growing collection. He later won a fifth Leinster title as ‘the Cats’ had a narrow win over reigning provincial champions Wexford. While a third successive All-Ireland showdown with Cork seemed extremely likely, Galway defeated Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final in one of the game’s of the decade. In 2006 Brennan won his sixth Leinster title before lining out in another All-Ireland final appearance. The game that everyone had predicted would happen in 2005 was now taking place as Cork squared up to Kilkenny for the third time in four years. The Leesiders were aiming for a third All-Ireland victory in-a-row, however, revenge was foremost in the minds of Kilkenny as it was Cork who denied their three-in-a-row bid in 2004. On the day Kilkenny were far too strong for Cork and Brennan played a huge role in capturing Kilkenny's 29th title and his own fourth All-Ireland medal. He was subsequently honoured with a second All-Star award. In 2007 Brennan captured a seventh Leinster medal following another facile victory in the provincial final. Once again Kilkenny later qualified for the final where, surprisingly, Limerick provided the opposition. Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Brennan and Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, Shefflin sustained an injury during the game and had to retire at half-time. Kilkenny hung onto this lead and went on to win the game, giving Brennan a fifth All-Ireland medal. Brennan's 1-5, following as it did on his two goal haul against Galway in the quarter-final, made him the game's top scorer and earned him the RTÉ Man of the match.

2008 saw Kilkenny launch an all-out attack in an attempt to capture a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. The team had an easy passage through the Leinster Championship, however, the opening half of the provincial final against Wexford gave ‘the Cats’ another minor scare. In the end Brennan collected his eighth Leinster medal after a 5-21 to 0-17 victory. This victory allowed Kilkenny to advance directly to the All-Ireland semi-final where arch-rivals Cork were the opponents. The game was an interesting encounter; however, Kilkenny claimed a 1-23 to 0-17 victory. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Waterford. It was their first meeting in the championship decider since 1963. A classic game of hurling was expected by many, however, Kilkenny started stronger. Two goals by Brennan after twenty minutes effectively killed the game, however, ‘the Cats’ ploughed on to record an enormous 3-30 to 1-13. It was Brennan's sixth All-Ireland medal.

Teams