John Keane (18 February 1917 – 1 October 1975) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-back at senior level for the Waterford county team.
Born in Waterford, Keane first played competitive hurling during his school days at Mount Sion CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of fifteen when he first linked up with the Waterford minor team, before later lining out with the junior side. He made his senior debut in the 1934–35 National Hurling League. Keane went on to play a key part for a Waterford team that made a long overdue breakthrough, and won one All-Ireland medal and two Munster medals.
As a representative of the Munster inter-provincial team for twelve years, Keane won seven Railway Cup medals during that period. At club level he won eight championship medals with Mount Sion.
Keane's retirement came following the conclusion of the 1951 championship.
In retirement from playing, Keane became involved in team management and coaching. As trainer of the Waterford senior team in 1959, he guided them to Munster and All-Ireland victory. He was also heavily involved with training various Mount Sion teams.
Keane has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at centre-back on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.
Early life
John Keane was born in Waterford, on 18 February 1917, into a family that was steeped in the traditions of Gaelic Ireland. His childhood years were spent among like-minded neighbours in the city's Barrack Street. Keane was educated at Mount Sion School, a great hurling nursery and a cradle of all things Gaelic and nationalist where he became the star hurler – going on to represent the Munster colleges team for three successive years.
Playing career
Club
Keane played his club hurling with the Mount Sion club in Waterford city. He won his first senior county title in 1938, the first senior title won by Mount Sion. Keane captained the club to further county titles in 1939, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949 and 1951. On his retirement from hurling in 1951 he was the only man in his club who had played on every championship winning team. He continued playing football for his club until 1955, winning two county senior medals.
Inter-county
Keane made his inter-county debut with Waterford in a Munster quarter-final defeat of Cork on 15 May 1932. His four-year tenure with the minor team was largely unsuccessful, apart from one Munster final appearance in 1934.
In 1934 Keane was just seventeen when he became a central figure on the Waterford junior hurling team that reached the provincial decider. A huge 7–10 to 5–2 defeat of Cork gave him a Munster medal in that grade. London provided the opposition on the subsequent All-Ireland decider. A close game developed, however, Waterford triumphed by 3–5 to 3–3, giving Keane an All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship medal.
Keane's performances in the minor and junior grades brought him to the attention of the senior selectors. He made his senior debut in a National Hurling League game against Cork on 10 February 1935.
In 1938 Keane was a dominant force in defence as Waterford defeated Cork to reach the Munster decider. Clare provided the opposition, however, a narrow 3–5 to 2–5 victory gave Waterford their first ever provincial crown. Keane later lined out in his first All-Ireland final on 4 September 1938, with Dublin standing in the way of a first championship. After battling hard for the hour, a more experienced Dublin secured a narrow 2–5 to 1–6 victory.
A decade in the doldrums followed Waterford's breakthrough season and, apart from a Munster final defeat in 1943, Keane enjoyed little success.