Paul Browne (hurler)

Paul Browne

Personal information
Irish name	Pól de Brún
Sport	Hurling
Position	Midfield
Born	(1989-09-21) 21 September 1989 (age 34) Bruff, County Limerick, Ireland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Occupation	GAA development officer
Club(s)
Years	Club
2007–present	Bruff
Club titles
Limerick titles	0
Colleges(s)
Years	College
	Limerick Institute of Technology
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles	0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2009–2019	Limerick	32 (2-16)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	2
All-Irelands	1
NHL	0
All Stars	0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 18:55, 23 November 2019.

Paul Browne (born 21 September 1989) is an Irish hurler who plays for Premier Intermediate Championship club Bruff. He played for the Limerick senior hurling team for 11 seasons, during which time he usually lined out at midfield.

Browne lined out for Limerick in three different grades of hurling over a 12-year period. After making his first appearance for the minor team in June 2007, he later had an unsuccessful three-year stint with the under-21 team. Browne made his competitive debut for the senior team aged 19 in 2009. From his debut, he was ever-present as a midfielder and made a combined total of 91 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in 2018. During that time, Browne was vice-captain of the All-Ireland Championship-winning team in 2018. He also secured two Munster Championship medals and a National League Division 2 medal. Browne announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 21 November 2019. ^[1]

Playing career

Limerick Institute of Technology

During his studies at the Limerick Institute of Technology, Browne was selected for the college's senior hurling team for the Fitzgibbon Cup.

Bruff

Browne joined the Bruff club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels before joining the club's top adult team. On 25 October 2014, he won a Premier Intermediate Championship medal following a 2-14 to 0-16 defeat of Croom in the final.^{[ citation needed ]}

Limerick

Minor and under-21

Browne first played for the Limerick minor hurling team at the age of seventeen. He made his only appearance in that grade on 23 June 2007 in a 3-21 to 0-12 Munster Championship defeat by Tipperary. ^[2]

On 5 June 2008, Browne made his first appearance for the Limerick under-21 hurling team, lining out at left corner-back in Limerick's 2-17 to 1-07 defeat of Waterford. ^[3] His three seasons in the under-21 grade ended with early championship defeats. ^{[4] [5]}

Senior

On 8 February 2009, Browne made his senior debut at midfield in a 3-13 to 1-18 defeat of Clare in the National Hurling League. ^[6] Later that season he made his first championship appearance in a 1-08 to 0-11 draw with Waterford. ^[7]

On 30 April 2011, Browne won a National League Division 2 medal after a 4-12 to 2-13 defeat of Clare in the final. ^[8]

On 14 July 2013, Browne scored a point from midfield in Limerick's 0-24 to 0-15 defeat of Cork in the Munster final. ^[9]

Browne was named vice-captain of the Limerick senior team for the 2018 season. In June 2018, he sustained a cruciate knee injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season. ^[10] On 19 August 2018, Browne was a member of the extended panel when Limerick won their first All-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of Galway in the final. ^[11] Prior to the game he was invited to line-up alongside the team for the pre-match photograph. ^[12]

In December 2018, Browne was included on the Limerick panel for the upcoming season. ^[13] His ongoing cruciate injury ruled him out of the National League. ^[14] On 30 June 2019, he won a second Munster Championship medal as a member of the extended panel after Limerick's 2-26 to 2-14 defeat of Tipperary in the final. ^[15] Browne announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 21 November 2019. ^{[16] [17]}

Munster

On 9 February 2014, Browne was a substitute on the Munster inter-provincial team that was defeated by Connacht in the semi-final of the Railway Cup. ^[18]

Career statistics

As of match played 19 August 2018.

Team	Year	National League			Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Limerick	2009	Division 1	7	1-02	2	0-01	4	0-03	12	1-06
	2010		7	0-05	1	0-00	1	0-00	9	0-05
	2011	Division 2	5	0-09	1	0-00	2	0-00	8	0-09
	2012	Division 1B	6	0-03	1	0-00	2	0-01	9	0-04
	2013		5	0-06	2	0-01	1	0-02	8	0-09
	2014		6	0-07	2	0-01	3	1-02	10	1-10
	2015		6	0-12	2	0-00	2	1-01	10	1-13
	2016		7	0-19	1	0-00	2	0-02	10	0-21
	2017		1	0-01	1	0-02	1	0-00	3	0-03
	2018		7	0-09	3	0-00	0	0-00	10	0-09
	2019	Division 1A	—		0	0-00	0	0-00	0	0-00
Total			57	1-73	16	0-05	18	2-11	91	3-89

Honours

Bruff

• Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2014

Limerick

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2018 (vc)
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (2): 2013, 2019
• National Hurling League Division 2 (1): 2011

References

1. O'Connell, Jerome (21 November 2019). "Limerick hurler Paul Browne confirms his inter-county retirement after 11 years". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
2. "Maher fires Tipperary to final as Limerick routed". Irish Examiner. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
3. "Limerick add to Waterford's woes". Irish Times. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
4. "Ryan's 3-9 gives Clare timely lift". Irish Times. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
5. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 July 2010). "O'Connor inspires Banner in thriller". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
6. "McCarthy's Limerick scrape past Clare". Irish Examiner. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
7. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 June 2009). "Semple snore draw simply awful". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
8. O'Connor, Christy (2 May 2011). "Limerick on the rise". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
9. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 July 2011). "Day of joy sends tremor through Treaty". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
10. Dollery, Paul (30 June 2018). "Cruciate injury rules Limerick midfielder out for the rest of the season". The 42. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
11. McGoldrick, Seán (19 August 2018). "Limerick are All Ireland hurling champions for the first time in 45 years following epic victory over Galway". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
12. "Limerick's gesture to injured Paul Browne did not go unnoticed". Sportsjoe. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
13. O'Connell, Jerome (21 December 2018). "42-man Limerick hurling panel for 2019 includes seven newcomers". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
14. O'Connell, Jerome (21 March 2019). "Limerick with 'pretty full compliment[sic] to select from' as Casey and O'Donoghue return". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
15. O'Toole, Fintan (30 June 2019). "More glory for Limerick as they lift Munster crown with 12-point win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
16. "Browne retires from Limerick duty". Hogan Stand. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
17. "'The time is right for me to step away' - Limerick All-Ireland winner retires after 11 years". The 42. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
18. Rooney, Declan (10 February 2014). "Munster reign ended by Tribesmen in disguise". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 21 August 2018.