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Eddie Keher

Personal information
Sport	Hurling
Irish Name	Éadbhard Ó Cathaoir
Full name	Edward Peter Keher
Date of Birth	11 November 1941
Place of birth	Inistioge, County Kilkenny
Club information
Club	Rower-Inistioge
Position	Forward
Club(s)*
Club	Years	Apps (scores)
Inistioge	1950s-1970s
Inter County
County	Kilkenny
Position	Corner-forward
Inter County(ies)**
County	Years	Apps (scores)
Kilkenny	1959-1977	50 (36-307)
Inter County Titles
Leinster Titles	10
All-Ireland	6
All-Stars	4 Cú Chualainn 5 All-Stars
* club appearances and scores correct as of . **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of .

Edward Peter "Eddie" Keher (born 11 November 1941) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling for Kilkenny between 1959 and 1977. He has gained iconic status in the sport and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time.

Contents 1 Early & private life 2 Hurling career 2.1 Club 2.2 Inter-county 3 Scoring records 4 Honours 5 Teams 6 See also

Eddie Keher was born in Inistioge, County Kilkenny in 1941. From an early age he showed exceptional talent at hurling, developing his skills with his friends in the square in his local village. Keher first came to note as an 11-year-old playing in an Under-14 hurling final. Even at that early stage a report of the match described his exceptional talent. At the age of 15 Keher was instrumental on the St. Kieran's College hurling team that defeated St. Flannans College of Ennis in the 1957 All-Ireland senior colleges final. In the game itself Keher scored three goals in the second-half to clinch victory, before setting up a fourth goal for his team-mate on the forward line. In 1959 Keher captained St. Kieran's to a second All-Ireland colleges success over Tipperary CBS.

Keher subsequently worked as a bank official with Allied Irish Bank in Dublin. He later became manager of the AIB branch in Callan. In 2006 he was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Science at the University of Limerick.[1]

Keher played his club hurling with his local Rower-Inistioge club in Kilkenny. The club itself was not one of the most successful in the county championship. In 1968, however, the club came from nowhere to win the Kilkenny SHC. Naturally Keher played a key role in this success and he was rewarded by being appointed captain of the Kilkenny senior hurling team for 1969.

In the late 1950s Keher further highlighted his remarkable hurling skills by playing four years at minor level for Kilkenny. In the 1959 All-Ireland final Keher scored 6-points, however, victory went to Tipperary on the day. Four weeks later he shot to national prominence with the Kilkenny senior hurlers when he came on as a substitute in the replayed All-Ireland final against Waterford. In spite of having a reasonably good game he still ended up on the losing side. Four years later Keher captured his first Leinster title before appearing in his second All-Ireland final. Once again the opposition were Waterford, however, on this occasion Kilkenny were the victors over an ageing Waterford side with Keher scoring a record 14 points.

In 1964 Keher captured his second Leinster medal, however, Kilkenny were later defeated by Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Two years later in 1966 the year began well for Keher when he captured his second National Hurling League medal, before later winning his third Leinster medal. In the All-Ireland final Kilkenny were the red-hot favourites to beat Cork, however, victory went to the Munster men. In 1967Keher claimed a fourth Leinster title with Kilkenny subsequently beating an ageing Tipperary side with Keher claiming All-Ireland medal number two. Two years later Keher was captain of the Kilkenny team. He won a fifth Leinster title before guiding his native county to victory over Cork to claim his third All-Ireland medal.

The best was yet to come in the early 1970s, however, as the Kilkenny team became one of the most powerful and dominant forces in the history of hurling. In the five years from 1971 to 1975 Keher captured five Leinster titles in-a-row bring his provincial medal tally up to ten. As well as this Kilkenny never missed an All-Ireland Hurling Final in these five years. Keher's 1970s All-Ireland medals were won in 1972 against Cork, 1974 against Limerick and 1975 against Galway. During these years he set new scoring records. In the 1971 final alone his tally of 2 goals and 11 points became a scoring record that remained unsurpassed until Nicky English in 1989. In November 1977 Keher retired after 21 years of playing at all levels with Kilkenny. During his remarkable career he won every honour in the game, including six All-Ireland medals, three National Hurling Leagues in 1962, 1966 and 1976 and 9 Railway Cup medals which was a Leinster record at the time. His awards for excellence include 4 Cú Chulainn awards, 5 consecutive All Star Awards and the Texaco Hurler of the Year award in 1972.

By the time he retired Keher had become known as the deadliest finisher in the history of hurling. He holds the record for scoring in All-Ireland finals with 7 goals and 56 points. He was also responsible for the highest score ever in a season, with a total of 20-134 scored in 1972, and is hurling's all-time top scorer having recorded 36 goals and 307 points during his 50 championship games with Kilkenny. For these scoring records and for his sheer skill Keher was an automatic choice on the Gaelic Athletic Association's Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000. In 2005 Keher's sideline goal in the 1972 All-Ireland final was listed as one of Radio Telefís Éireann's Top 20 GAA Moments.

Preceded by Dan Quigley (Wexford)	All-Ireland Hurling Final winning captain 1969	Succeeded by Paddy Barry (Cork)
Preceded by Babs Keating (Tipperary)	Texaco Hurler of the Year 1972	Succeeded by Éamonn Grimes (Limerick)

Competition	No.	Years
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships	6	1963, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975
Leinster Senior Hurling Championships	10	1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
National Hurling Leagues	3	1962, 1966, 1976
Leinster Minor Hurling Championships	4	1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
Railway Cups	9	1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Kilkenny Senior Club Hurling Championships	1	1968
All Star Awards	5	1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Cú Chulainn Awards	4	1963, 1966, 1967, 1969
Texaco Hurler of the Year	1	1972

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1963 (15th title)
1 O. Walsh | 2 P. 'Fan' Larkin | 3 C. Whelan | 4 M. Treacy | 5 S. Cleere (Capt.) | 6 T. Carroll | 7 M. Coogan | 8 P. Moran | 9 S. Clohessy | 10 D. Heaslip | 11 J. McGovern | 12 E. Keher | 13 T. Walsh | 14 W. Dwyer | 15 T. Murphy | Subs: O. Gough |

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1967 (16th title)
1 O. Walsh | 2 T. Carroll | 3 P. Dillon | 4 J. Treacy (Capt.) | 5 S. Cleere | 6 P. Henderson | 7 M. Coogan | 8 P. Moran | 9 J. Teehan | 10 E. Keher | 11 T. Walsh | 12 C. Dunne | 13 J. Bennett | 14 J. Lynch | 15 M. Brennan | Subs: R. Blanchfield | J. Kinsella | P. Carroll |

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1969 (17th title)
1 O. Walsh | 2 T. Carroll | 3 P. Dillon | 4 J. Treacy | 5 W. Murphy | 6 P. Henderson | 7 M. Coogan | 8 F. Cummins | 9 M. Lawler | 10 C. Dunne | 11 P. Delaney | 12 E. Keher (Capt.) | 13 J. Millea | 14 M. Brennan | 15 T. Murphy | Subs: P. Kavanagh | S. Buckley | P. Moran |

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1972 (18th title)
1 N. Skehan (Capt.) | 2 P. 'Fan' Larkin | 3 P. Dillon | 4 J. Treacy | 5 P. Lawlor | 6 P. Henderson | 7 E. Morrissey | 8 F. Cummins | 9 L. 'Chunky' O'Brien | 10 M. Crotty | 11 P. Delaney | 12 J. Kinsella | 13 N. Byrne | 14 K. Purcell | 15 E. Keher | Subs: M. Murphy | M. Coogan | P. Moran | Manager: Fr. T. Maher

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1974 (19th title)
1 N. Skehan | 2 P. 'Fan' Larkin | 3 N. Orr (Capt.) | 4 J. Treacy | 5 P. Lawlor | 6 P. Henderson | 7 T. McCormack | 8 L. 'Chunky' O'Brien | 9 F. Cummins | 10 M. Crotty | 11 P. Delaney | 12 B. Fitzpatrick | 13 M. Brennan | 14 K. Purcell | 15 E. Keher | Manager: Fr. T. Maher

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1975 (20th title)
1 N. Skehan | 2 P. 'Fan' Larkin | 3 N. Orr | 4 B. Cody (Capt.) | 5 P. Lawlor | 6 P. Henderson | 7 T. McCormack | 8 L. 'Chunky' O'Brien | 9 F. Cummins | 10 M. Crotty | 11 P. Delaney | 12 B. Fitzpatrick (Capt.) | 13 M. Brennan | 14 K. Purcell | 15 E. Keher | Manager: Fr. T. Maher

	Kilkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1979 (21st title)
1 N. Skehan | 2 P. 'Fan' Larkin | 3 P. Prendergast | 4 J. Henderson | 5 R. Reid | 6 G. Henderson | 7 N. Brennan | 8 J. Hennessy | 9 F. Cummins | 10 G. Fennelly (Capt.) | 11 B. Fitzpatrick | 12 L. 'Chunky' O'Brien | 13 M. Brennan | 14 M. Crotty | 15 M. Ruth | Subs: D. O'Hara | K. Fennelly | Managers: P. Henderson | E. Keher

	GAA Hurling Team of the Century (1984)
1 Tony Reddin | 2 Bobby Rackard | 3 Nick O'Donnell | 4 John Doyle | 5 Jimmy Finn | 6 John Keane | 7 Paddy Phelan | 8 Lory Meagher | 9 Jack Lynch | 10 Christy Ring | 11 Mick Mackey | 12 Jim Langton | 13 Jimmy Doyle | 14 Nicky Rackard | 15 Eddie Keher |

	GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium (2000)
1 Tony Reddin | 2 John Doyle | 3 Nick O'Donnell | 4 Bobby Rackard | 5 Paddy Phelan | 6 John Keane | 7 Brian Whelahan | 8 Lory Meagher | 9 Jack Lynch | 10 Christy Ring | 11 Mick Mackey | 12 Jim Langton | 13 Eddie Keher | 14 Ray Cummins | 15 Jimmy Doyle |

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