John Haugh
.JPG) |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Born | 1930 Toomevara, County Tipperary |
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| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1950-1952 & 1956-1968 1953-1955 |
Toomevara Holycross-Ballycahill |
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| Club titles | |||
| Tipperary titles | 2 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
| 1951-1961 | Tipperary | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 4 | ||
| All-Irelands | 3 | ||
| NHL | 4 | ||
John Haugh (1930–1998) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with local club Toomevara and also with Holycross-Ballycahill. He was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county hurling team from 1951 to 1961.
John Haugh was born into a sporting family in Ballycrinode in the parish of Toomevara in 1930. His uncle Dennis Haugh had been crowned the very first holder of the British light-heavyweight boxing title in 1913 when he defeated Sid Ellis by a first round knockout. Toomevara is a parish steeped in hurling tradition, so it was only to be expected that hurling would interest John from an early age. He learned the skills and acquired the arts of the game from his masters and his peers and he became one of the great players of his parish and county.
In 1950, at the age of twenty, John made his debut for the Toomevara senior team and hurled with them until 1952. Finding employment in Dwan's Mineral Waters in Thurles resulted in his transfer from Toomevara to Holycross-Ballycahill. John won a Mid Tipperary senior hurling title in 1954 and later that year went on to win his first county senior hurling title with Holycross-Ballycahill defeating Roscrea in the final on a scoreline of 6-5 to 2-3. Haugh also won a Mid Tipperary junior football championship in his time with Holycross-Ballycahill.
When Toomevara regained senior status in 1956, John threw in his lot with his native parish. He played in his first North Tipperary senior hurling final in 1957 in a losing effort to Nenagh. This was the first of seven North Tipperary senior hurling final appearances in a row up to 1963. He won four North Tipperary championships during this period with Toomevara, the first in 1958 against Kilruane MacDonaghs. Toomevara reached the county final that year but were beaten by Thurles Sarsfields. In 1960, after again defeating Kilruane MacDonaghs to win the North Tipperary senior hurling final, John won his second county title when Toomevara defeated a Thurles Sarsfields side who were seeking their sixth county title in a row, the final score being Toomevara 3-15 Thurles Sarsfields 2-8. On this occasion Toomevara were more confident and were in excellent physical condition due to the work of Ossie Bennett, who went on to prepare Tipperary teams through the golden era of the 1960s. John had known the Sarsfields from the time he spent with Holycross and was fully intent on revenge for the times he had lost to them. He relished the challenge, gave an outstanding performance at midfield and inspired his teammates to a memorable victory over one of the greatest club teams of all time. John was captain of the Toomevara side that retained the North Division title in 1961 by defeating Borrisokane and became the very first recipient of the new trophy for the championship, the Frank McGrath Cup, presented in honour of Frank McGrath, who himself won three senior hurling championships with Toomevara in 1912, 1913, and 1914. Toomevara however lost their county title to Thurles Sarsfields that year. A great damper was put on the game beforehand when tragedy struck the Haugh family. John's brother, Gerry, a valued member of the team, was killed in a traffic accident near Clonakilty, Co. Cork. In the postponed final, John was sent off early in the game for what seemed a trivial offence. John won his fourth and final North Tipperary senior hurling final in 1962 when Toomevara defeated Kilruane MacDonaghs. He also played in the North Tipperary final of 1966, which Toomevara lost narrowly to Lorrha.
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