Declan Dalton

Declan Dalton

Personal information
Irish name	Déaglán Daltúin
Sport	Hurling
Position	Full-forward
Born	(1997-11-06) 6 November 1997 (age 26) Ballymacoda, County Cork, Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nickname	Deccie
Occupation	Electrician
Club(s)*
Years	Club	Apps (scores)
2014-present 2015-2019	Fr. O'Neill's → Imokilly	3 (2-24) 23 (5-92)
Club titles
Cork titles	3
Inter-county(ies)**
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2016-present	Cork	17 (3-36)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	0
All-Irelands	0
NHL	0
All Stars	0
* club appearances and scores correct as of 22:56, 20 October 2023. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 7 July 2024.

Declan Dalton (born 6 November 1997) is an Irish hurler who plays as a forward for club side Fr. O'Neill's, divisional side Imokilly and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team.

Playing career

Fr. O'Neill's

Dalton joined the Fr. O'Neill's club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 16 September 2013, he was at right wing-forward when Fr. O'Neill's defeated Newcestown by 4-14 to 5-10 to win the Cork Premier 2 MHC title.

Dalton subsequently progressed onto the Fr. O'Neill's under-21 team. On 8 December 2018, he gave the "performance of a lifetime" for Fr. O'Neill's when he scored 0-15, including twelve from frees, in 3-24 to 4-18 defeat of Midleton to win the Cork Premier Under-21 Championship title. ^[1]

Dalton made his first appearance for the Fr. O'Neill's top adult team during the 2014 Cork Intermediate Championship.

On 22 October 2016, Dalton scored six points from full-forward when Fr. O'Neill's drew with Kildorrery in the Cork Intermediate Championship final. ^[2] The replay a week later also saw Dalton top score for the team with 1-08 in a 1-18 to 1-14 victory. ^[3]

On 12 October 2019, Dalton lined out at full-forward when Fr. O'Neill's faced Kilworth in the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship final. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 3-23 to 1-20 victory. ^[4] Dalton was also the championship's top scorer with 3-45. On 24 November 2019, he scored 1-07 when Fr. O'Neill's defeated Ballysaggart by 2-15 to 0-17 to win the Munster Club Championship. ^[5]

Imokilly

Dalton's performances at club level lead to him being selected for the Imokilly divisional team during the 2015 Cork Senior Championship.

On 22 October 2017, Dalton was in goal when Imokilly defeated Blackrock by 3-13 to 0-18 to win the Cork Senior Championship final. ^[6] It was the division's first title since 1998.

Dalton was replaced in goal by Watergrasshill's Dara O'Callaghan for the 2018 Cork Senior Championship, however, he remained on the panel as a forward. On 14 October, he was introduced as a 52nd-minute substitute for Barry Lawton when Imokilly retained the title after a 4-19 to 1-18 defeat of Midleton in the final. ^[7]

On 20 October 2019, Dalton played in a third successive county final. Lining out at full-forward, he top scored for the team with 1-07 and collected a third successive winners' medal after the 2-17 to 1-16 defeat of Glen Rovers. ^[8] Dalton was also the championship's top scorer with 3-55.

Cork

Minor and under-21

Dalton first played for Cork at minor level on 8 April 2015 in a 2-20 to 1-13 Munster Championship defeat of Limerick. ^[9] An anomaly in the championship format saw Cork face the same opposition in the semi-final, with Limerick reversing the result and knocking Dalton's team out of the championship. ^[10]

On 13 July 2017, Dalton made his first appearance for the Cork under-21 hurling team, scoring 1-12, including a late penalty, in Cork's one-point defeat of Waterford. ^[11]

Dalton won a Munster Championship medal on 4 July 2018, after scoring seven points in Cork's 2-23 to 1-13 defeat of Tipperary in the final. ^[12] A knee injury in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Wexford threatened to end his championship campaign. ^[13] On 26 August 2018, Dalton scored five points from frees in a 3-13 to 1-16 All-Ireland final defeat by Tipperary in what was his last game in the grade. ^[14] Dalton was later nominated for the Team of the Year. ^[15]

Senior

Dalton was added to the extended training panel of the Cork senior team in late 2016. ^[16] He made his first competitive appearance as goalkeeper on 25 January 2017 and scored two long-range points from frees in Cork's 0-19 to 0-15 Munster League defeat of Clare. ^[17]

On 27 January 2019, Dalton made his first National Hurling League appearance at centre-forward in a 2-18 to 0-17 defeat by Kilkenny at Nowlan Park. ^[18] On 13 February, it was announced that he faced a period on the sidelines following a knee operation. ^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22ɣ September 2024.

Team	Year	Cork IHC		Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Fr. O'Neill's	2014	4	1-21	—		—		4	1-21
	2015	4	3-33	—		—		4	3-33
	2016	7	5-55	—		—		7	5-55
	Total	15	9-109	—		—		15	9-109
	Year	Cork PIHC		Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
	2017	4	3-14	—		—		4	3-14
	2018	4	3-19	—		—		4	3-19
	2019	5	3-45	3	3-28	2	2-14	10	8-87
	Total	13	9-78	3	3-28	2	2-14	18	14-120
	Year	Cork SAHC		Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
	2020	5	7-35	—		—		5	7-35
	2021	3	3-30	—		—		3	3-30
	2022	5	1-50	—		—		5	1-50
	Total	13	11-115	—		—		13	11-115
	Year	Cork PSHC		Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
	2023	3	2-24	—		—		3	2-24
	2024	4	3-42	—		—		4	3-42
	Total	7	5-66	—		—		7	5-66
Career total		48	34-368	3	3-28	2	2-14	53	39-410

Division

As of match played 20 October 2019.

Team	Year	Cork SHC
		Apps	Score
Imokilly	2015	3	1-10
	2016	4	0-08
	2017	6	1-08
	2018	4	0-11
	2019	6	3-55
Career total		23	5-92

Inter-county

As of match played 7 July 2024.

Team	Year	National League			Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Cork Minor	2015	—			2	0-03	—		2	0-03
	Total	—			2	0-03	—		2	0-03
Cork U21	2017	—			2	1-14	—		2	1-14
	2018	—			2	0-15	2	0-13	4	0-28
	Total	—			4	1-29	2	0-13	6	1-42
Cork	2017	Division 1A	—		—		—		—
	2018		—		—		—		—
	2019		2	0-01	3	0-02	1	0-01	6	0-04
	2020		3	0-02	1	0-01	2	1-02	6	1-05
	2021		2	0-02	0	0-00	0	0-00	2	0-02
	2022		—		—		—		—
	2023		4	1-12	4	2-09	—		8	3-21
	2024		2	0-07	3	0-07	3	0-14	8	0-28
	Total		13	1-24	11	2-19	6	1-17	30	4-60
Career total			13	1-24	17	3-51	8	1-30	38	5-105

Honours

Fr. O'Neill's

• Cork Senior A Hurling Championship: 2022
• Munster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship: 2019
• Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship: 2019
• Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship: 2016
• Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship: 2018
• Cork Premier 2 Minor Hurling Championship: 2013

Imokilly

• Cork Senior Hurling Championship: 2017, 2018, 2019

Cork

• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2018

References

1. Horgan, John (9 December 2018). "Fr O'Neill's make history after defeating Midleton in a stone-cold classic U21 final". Evening Echo. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
2. Horgan, Noel (29 October 2016). "Justice done as O'Brien earns replay". The Corkman. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
3. Tarrant, John (5 November 2016). "Heartbreak for Kildorrery in replay". The Corkman. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
4. Horgan, John (13 October 2019). "Dalton and Dunne deliver glory for Fr O'Neill's hurlers against Kilworth". Evening Echo. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
5. O'Callaghan, Therese (24 November 2019). "Fr O'Neill's claim Munster club intermediate hurling title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
6. Hurley, Denis (22 October 2017). "Cork's Seamus Harnedy helps Imokilly end 19 years of hurt to claim county title". The 42. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
7. Cormican, Eoghan (14 October 2018). "Imokilly retain title after ten-point win". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
8. "Imokilly hurlers hold off Glen comeback to complete three in a row". Evening Echo. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
9. Cormican, Eoghan (9 April 2015). "Denis Ring delights as Cork minor hurlers roar past Limerick". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
10. O'Callaghan, Therese (2 July 2015). "Limerick minors deliver late knockout to Cork". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
11. O'Toole, Fintan (13 July 2017). "Late Dalton goal hands 14-man Cork dramatic win over Waterford in Munster U21 semi-final". The 42. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
12. Cormican, Eoghan (5 July 2018). "Cork outclass Tipperary on home soil to end 11-year Munster U21 hurling crown wait". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
13. Horgan, John (6 August 2018). "Concerns over Dalton's availability for the All-Ireland final". Evening Echo. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
14. "Injury time drama as late Tipperary goal secures All-Ireland U21 victory over Cork". Irish Independent. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
15. "Cork, Tipperary and Galway lead the way as U21 Team of the Year nominees released". Hogan Stand. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
16. O'Toole, Fintan (25 October 2016). "5 players cut from Cork hurling squad as several youngsters added before 2017 campaign". The 42. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
17. Cormican, Eoghan (26 January 2017). "Cork make it four in a row to set up final re-match with Limerick". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
18. "Kilkenny get league defence up and running with seven point win over Cork". The 42. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
19. "Cork attacker Declan Dalton ruled out after knee operation". Irish Examiner. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.