Matthew "Matty" Power (18 October 1899 – 7 October 1965) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling at various times with his local clubs Dicksboro and Garda. Power was also a member of the Kilkenny and Dublin senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s.
Biography
Matty Power was born in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny in 1899. He was educated locally and later trained as a member of the Garda Síochána before moving to Dublin where he worked as a guard. Together with his wife, Nancy Walsh (1916–2003), they also ran a boarding house at Gardiner Place called Kilkenny House.
Matty Power died from lung cancer in 1965.
Playing career
Club
Power played his club hurling with his local Dicksboro club just outside Kilkenny. He won a senior county title with the club in 1923. Power later moved to Dublin where he played with the famous Garda club in the city. Here he collected five senior county titles in-a-row from 1925 until 1929. Power won a seventh county title in 1931.
Inter-county
Power first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the early 1920s. He won his first Leinster title in 1922 following an eight-point victory over Dublin. This victory allowed Kilkenny to advance to the All-Ireland final where Tipperary were the opponents. With three minutes left in the game Tipp were leading by three points, however, last-minute goals by Paddy Donoghue and Dick Tobin secured a 4–2 to 2–6 victory for Kilkenny. Power had captured his first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal. He added a second Leinster title to his collection in 1923 following another win over Dublin, however, Galway accounted for Power's side in the All-Ireland semi-final.
After moving to Dublin, Power was allowed to turn out for the Dublin senior hurling team. He won a third Leinster title in 1927 as Dublin defeated his own native-county on a score line of 7–7 to 4–6. In the subsequent All-Ireland final, Dublin faced Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. On a team composed of nine members of the Garda Síochána Dublin were in the lead at half-time, and Power collected his second All-Ireland medal as his side won by 4–8 to 1–3. In 1928, Power added a fourth provincial medal to his collection as Dublin defeated Offaly by 9–7 to 4–3. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw the Leinster and Munster champions come face-to-face as Dublin took on Cork in a repeat of the previous All-Ireland final. On this occasion Cork defeated Power's side by 5- to 0–2. In 1929, Power collected a National Hurling League title with Dublin. Dublin were later defeated by Kilkenny in the Leinster final. The team bounced back in 1930 and defeated Laois by 5–7 to 2-2 giving Power a fifth Leinster title and passage to the All-Ireland final. Dublin faced Tipperary on that occasion, however, Power ended up on the losing side that day.