Martin Kavanagh (born 15 September 1994) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with St Mullin's and at inter-county level with the Carlow senior hurling team. Kavanagh is Carlow's all-time top scorer.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Máirtín Caomhánach | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Centre-forward | ||
| Born | 15 September 1994 St Mullin's, County Carlow, Ireland | ||
| Nickname | Mouse | ||
| Occupation | Student | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| St Mullin's | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Carlow titles | 5 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
| Institute of Technology, Carlow | |||
| College titles | |||
| Fitzgibbon titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2012-present | Carlow | 23 (4-136) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 0 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 18:06, 21 May 2024. | |||
Early life
Born and raised in the St Mullin's are of County Carlow, Kavanagh first played hurling as a schoolboy with Borris Vocational School in various competitions.[2][3] He later lined out with Institute of Technology, Carlow and won an All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling League title after a defeat of University College Cork in 2013.[4] Kavanagh returned to IT Carlow almost a decade later and was their top scorer in the 2022 Fitzgibbon Cup.[5]
Club career
Kavanagh began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the St Mullin's club. He had a number of successes, beginning with a Carlow U16HC title before later claiming a Carlow MHC title after scoring 1-08 against Naomh Eoin in the 2011 minor final.[6] Kavanagh ended his underage career by winning a Carlow U21HC title in 2014.[7]
By that stage Kavanagh had already joined the club's senior team and was top scorer when St Mullin's were beaten by Mount Leinster Rangers in the 2013 final.[8] He continued to be the club's scorer-in-chief as St Mullin's won three consecutive Carlow SHC titles after defeats of Naomh Eoin in 2014 and Mount Leinster Rangers in 2015 and 2016.[9][10][11]
After losing the 2018 final to Mount Leinster Rangers, Kavanagh collected a fourth winners' medal as captain when St Mullin's overcame Mount Leinster Rangers in the 2019 final.[12][13] He ended the season by scoring 0-12 in a defeat by Ballyhale Shamrocks in the 2019 Leinster Club SHC final.[14]
Kavanagh made a further three final appearances between 2021 and 2023 and claimed a fifth winners' medal after beating Bagenalstown Gaels in the 2022 final.[15]
Inter-county career
Kavanagh began his inter-county career with Carlow during a two-year tenure with the minor team in 2011 and 2012. He was the team's top scorer both seasons with a cumulative total of 2-40.[16] Kavanagh was in his final year with the minor team when he was drafted onto the under-21 team.[17] His four seasons in this grade ended without success.
Kavanagh was just 17-years-old and still eligible for the minor side when he made his senior team debut in a National League defeat of Down in 2012.[18] He ended that campaign with a Division 2A title after beating Westmeath by 1-14 to 0-12 in the final.[19] Kavanagh was appointed team captain in advance of the 2017 season.[20] He ended the year with a Christy Ring Cup winners' medal after a 5-23 to 4-15 defeat of Antrim in the final.[21]
Kavanagh added a second Division 2A medal to his collection after another defeat of Westmeath in 2018.[22] He played in the early stages of that year's Joe McDonagh Cup but later spent the summer if the United States and missed the defeat of Westmeath in the final.[23]
Kavanagh immediately rejoined the team after returning and was named on the Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year in 2022.[24] He became Carlow's all-time top scorer during the 2023 National League.[25] Kavanagh was top scorer when Carlow claimed the Joe McDonagh Cup title after a 2-29 to 1-31 defeat of Offaly in the 2023 final.[26] Kavanagh ended the season by being named on the Team of the Year for a second successive year.
Career statistics
- As of match played 26 May 2024.
| Team | Year | National League | Ring Cup | McDonagh Cup | Leinster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Carlow | 2012 | Division 2A | 5 | 1-12 | — | — | 1 | 0-07 | 1 | 0-08 | 7 | 1-27 | ||
| 2013 | Division 1B | 4 | 0-23 | — | — | 2 | 0-11 | 1 | 0-00 | 7 | 0-34 | |||
| 2014 | Division 2A | 6 | 3-20 | — | — | 4 | 3-06 | — | 10 | 6-26 | ||||
| 2015 | 5 | 2-28 | — | — | 3 | 1-16 | — | 8 | 3-44 | |||||
| 2016 | 4 | 1-12 | — | — | 2 | 0-08 | — | 6 | 1-20 | |||||
| 2017 | 5 | 0-13 | 5 | 4-13 | — | — | — | 10 | 4-26 | |||||
| 2018 | 6 | 3-27 | — | 1 | 0-01 | — | — | 7 | 3-28 | |||||
| 2019 | Division 1B | 6 | 0-49 | — | — | 4 | 0-33 | — | 10 | 0-82 | ||||
| 2020 | 6 | 1-35 | — | 4 | 1-31 | — | — | 10 | 2-66 | |||||
| 2021 | Division 2A | 5 | 4-60 | — | 0 | 0-00 | — | — | 5 | 4-60 | ||||
| 2022 | 3 | 0-21 | — | 5 | 2-49 | — | — | 8 | 2-70 | |||||
| 2023 | 4 | 0-26 | — | 6 | 3-71 | — | 1 | 0-12 | 11 | 3-109 | ||||
| 2024 | 6 | 4-46 | — | — | 5 | 1-46 | — | 11 | 5-92 | |||||
| Total | 65 | 19-372 | 5 | 4-13 | 16 | 6-152 | 21 | 5-127 | 3 | 0-20 | 110 | 34-684 | ||
Honours
Team
- Institute of Technology, Carlow
- All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling League: 2013
- St Mullin's
- Carlow Senior Hurling Championship: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 (c), 2022
- Carlow Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2014
- Carlow Minor Hurling Championship: 2011
- Carlow
Individual
- Awards
- Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year: 2022, 2023
- Club Hurling Team of the Year: 2020
- Higher Education Rising Stars Team of the Year: 2018
- Carlow Hurler of the Year: 2014, 2015, 2019