Garrett Howard

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Garrett Howard
irish = Gearóid Ó hÍomhair
fullname = Garrett Howard
placeofbirth = Croom
countryofbirth = County Limerick
dob =
height =
nickname =
county = Limerick
province = Munster
club = Croom
clposition = Half-back
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Limerick
icposition = Half-back
icyears = 1921-1936
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 5
icallireland = 5
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

Garrett Howard (December 10, 1899 - ?) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Croom in Limerick, Garda in Dublin and Toomevara in Tipperary. He was also a member of the Dublin and Limerick senior inter-county teams from 1921 until 1936. In the 1980s Howard was presented with a GAA All-Time All-Star Award, marking him out as one of the greatest players of all-time.

Playing career

Club

Howard first played hurling with his local club in Croom in the late 1910s. He won his first senior county title in 1919, however, he later moved to Dublin where he joined the Garda GAA club. Here Howard enjoyed much more success winning six senior county titles in 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1931. It was an unprecedented and never repeated run of success for the club that was dominated by rural members. Howard later played club hurling with Toomevara in County Tipperary.

Inter-county

Howard first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Limerick senior team in the early 1920s. In an unusual provincial championship that saw only Limerick and Cork participating, Howard won his first Munster title following a victory over the Leesiders. Limerick later squared up to Dublin in the championship decider. In the first-half Bob McConkey, the team captain, captured three goals for Limerick and the side eventually won by 8-5 to 3-2. Howard had captured his first All-Ireland medal.

Howard later moved to Dublin where he was quickly spotted by the Dublin inter-county selectors. He immediately joined the team and won a Leinster title in 1924. Dublin later played Galway in the All-Ireland final. The men from the West were the reigning champions and had the measure of Dublin for much of the game. However, Dublin got back on level terms when Howard drove the Galway goalkeeper into and under the net. Dublin eventually won the game on a score line of 5-3 to 2-6 and Howard collected his second All-Ireland medal. Three years later in 1927 he won a second Leinster medal before lining out in his third All-Ireland final. Old Munster rivals Cork provided the opposition on this occasion, however, it was a Dublin side made up of nine members of An Garda Síochána that won the day giving Howard a third All-Ireland medal. He won a third Leinster title in 1928, however, Dublin were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Howard captured a National league medal with 'the Dubs' in 1929.

In the 1930s Howard returned to play hurling with his native Limerick. He won a second Munster title in 1933 as Limerick trounced Waterford in the provincial final. Limerick later faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final and one of the rivalries of the decade got underway. The sides were level for much of the game, however, a remarkable solo-run by Kilkenny's Johnny Dunne sealed the victory for 'the Cats' on a score line of 1-7 to 0-6. Limerick continued their dominance in 1934 by capturing a National Hurling League title and by defeating Waterford once again in the Munster final. After collecting a third Munster medal Howard lined out in his fifth All-Ireland final appearance. Dublin, Howard's old team, provided the opposition on this occasion, however, the game ended in a draw. Limerick made no mistake in the replay and beat 'the Dubs' on a score line of 5-2 to 2-6 giving Howard a fourth All-Ireland medal. Limerick captured a second consecutive National League title in 1935 and later trounced Tipperary in the provincial decider giving Howard a fourth Munster medal. Once again Kilkenny provided the opposition and the game was a close affair. In a huge downpour KIlkenny hung on to win by a single point, thus ending Limerick's unprecedented run of 31 matches without defeat. In 1936 Howard won his third National League medal and his fifth Munster title as Limerick trounced Tipperary by four goals. It was his eighth provincial title over all. For the third time in four years Limerick later faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. Kilkenny were the bookies' favourites as they had beaten Limerick on the two previous occasions and they were the reigning champions. Limerick, however, did not give up easily and were still smarting from the previous year's defeat. Perhaps this may explain why they trounced Kilkenny by 5-6 to 1-5 giving Howard a fifth All-Ireland medal. This was Howard's last appearance for Limerick as he retired shortly afterwards.

Post-playing career

In retirement from inter-county hurling Howard continued to work as a Garda in County Tipperary. His huge contribution to the game of hurling was recognised in 1982 when he was presented with the GAA All-Time All-Star Award. Howard's daughter, Liz Howard, followed in her father's footsteps and played camogie for Clare, Tipperary and Dublin. She later served as the PRO of the Tipperary County Board and is currently the president of the Camogie Association of Ireland.

Teams