Tom MacLoughney (1938 - )

Tom McLoughney attended Ardcroney N.S. where Con Heffernan, one of the pioneers of juvenile hurling was the principal. Under his influence Tom began to rapidly develop as a hurler. In 1951 he played his first juvenile game for Kilruane MacDonaghs against Shannon Rovers. At that time he had no aspirations to wear the blue and gold. His ambition was to make the club senior team and win a North medal.

In Tom's first year in juvenile ranks MacDonaghs won the North championship defeating Moneygall in the final. In 1951 the Borris-lleigh senior team was at the height of its powers. Tom's idol as a juvenile was Paddy Kenny, one of the stars of that team. Tom graduated to the minor team but failed to add to his juvenile medal. In 1956 he was a substitute on the MacDonaghs team that won the North junior championship.

1959 turned out to be a vintage year for Tom. Early in the season he was playing on the junior team. He soon made his debut for the Kilruane senior team in a championship match against Borris-lleigh. Tom's direct opponent was Timmy Ryan and he freely admits that he got a lesson in hurling from the great Timmy. The North Final of 1959 saw MacDonaghs end a fifteen year barren spell by defeating Toomevara in the decider on an 0-11 to 1-4 scoreline, thus avenging the defeat in 1958 by the Greyhounds.

The county final against Thurles was played in Roscrea. Tom had a superb game on the "Rattler" Burns. However, despite a great display by the entire MacDonaghs team, they failed to break the dominance of Sarsfields. Tom's displays in the championship attracted the attention of the county selectors and at eighteen years of age he made his league debut for Tipperary against Galway in Pearse Stadium. Thus in the one year he had progresses from club junior hurling to the intercounty scene.

In 1960 he collected his first league medal with Tipperary and he won the first of his three Munster medals when the Premier county overcame Cork in the decider. In the All Ireland final Tipperary were red hot favourites but failed sensationally to Wexford. Tom, lining at full forward, was marked that day by Nick O'Donnell who was later chosen on both the team of the century and team of the millennium. Without hesitation Tom says that O'Donnell was the greatest player he ever marked.

In the 1960 North Final Toomevara reversed the '59 result in convincing fashion. Tom was well policed in that match by Matt Hassett whom he considers the most difficult opponent he faced in club hurling.1960 also saw Tom win his first Oireachtas medal.

In 1961 Tom collected his second National League medal. In the Munster final Tipperary overcame Cork in Limerick. Tom was injured in that match in controversial circumstances and was unable to finish the game. In the All-Ireland final he won his first Celtic Cross when Tipperary had a narrow win over Dublin. For good measure he picked up his second Oireachtas medal. In 1962 Tipperary defeated Waterford in the Munster final. In the All-Ireland final against Wexford Tipperary made amends for the 1960 defeat and Tom had his second All-Ireland medal. Tom opened the scoring in this game with a goal and as it was the first ever televised match he had the distinction of getting the first ever score on television. On the club front MacDonaghs failed in a titanic struggle to stop Toomevara from taking a hat trick of titles. A crowd of 3,000 witnessed an epic match as the Greyhounds emerged victorious on a 4-9 to 5-4 scoreline.

Tom made his last appearance for the county side against Waterford in the 1963 league final. 1963 and 1964 were unproductive years for the Kilruane senior team. The following year MacDonaghs had a dramatic win over Lorrha when a late Sean Williams goal snatched victory in the North final, giving Tom his second divisional medal. Defeat by Lorrha in the ’66 semi-final and the ’67 losers group final heralded the break up of that team. Tom continued playing for MacDonaghs until 1971, finishing his career as a reluctant goalkeeper.

His greatest disappointment in his career was that a county medal eluded him. However, he was a selector on the Kilruane MacDonaghs team that won three county titles in a row, 1977 to 1979. Tom was also a county selector in 1980. He is still actively involved in the club and is one of our vice-presidents.

Tom’s achievements: 2 All-Ireland senior medals, ’61 and ‘62 3 Munster senior medals, 60, ’61 and ‘62 2 National League medals, ’60 and ‘61 2 Oireachtas medals, ’60 and ‘61 1 St. Brendan Cup medal ‘60 2 North senior medals, ’59 and ‘65 1 North junior medal, ‘56 1 North U-15 medal, ‘51