Andy Fleming (Irish sportsman)

Andy Fleming
Personal information
Native name
Aindrias Pléimeann (Irish)
Born16 April 1916[1]
Died27 March 2011(2011-03-27) (aged 94)
OccupationCIÉ employee
Sport
SportHurling
PositionRight corner-back
Clubs
Years Club
Mount Sion
Stradbally
Club titles
  Football Hurling
Waterford titles 5 6
Inter-county
Years County
1939-1951
Waterford
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 1
All-Irelands 1

Andrew Thomas Fleming (16 April 1916 – 27 March 2011) was an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer. At club level he played with Mount Sion and Stradbally, and was part of the Waterford senior hurling team that won the All-Ireland SHC title in 1948.

Early life

Fleming was born in Belmont, County Offaly, where his father worked for the Great Southern Railway. The family later settled in Durrow, County Waterford, where his father became station master.[2] Fleming attended the local national school, before receiving his secondary education at Mount Sion CBS.

Club career

Fleming grew up in an area when Gaelic football was the dominant game and he played with the Stradbally club. Having played hurling as student at Mount Sion CBS, he was invited to play with Kilmacthomas in a junior game in 1938. Fleming transferred to the Mount Sion club the following year and won his first Waterford SHC medal, following a 2–04 to 2–02 win over Erin's Own. He also won a Waterford JFC title that year.[3]

Fleming continued to hurl for Moun Sion after transferring back to Stradbally for football. He won five Waterford SFC title in succession between 1940 and 1944. He also claimed a second Waterford SHC medal in 1940, after Mount Sion's two–point defeat of Dungarvan. Fleming won six Waterford SHC medals in total, with further victories in 1943, 1945, 1948 and 1949.[4]

Inter-county career

Fleming's performance for Kilmacthomas in a junior game in August 1938 resulted in calls for him to be immediately added to the Waterford senior team that had qualified for the 1938 All-Ireland final.[5] The call-up never came, however, he was added to the senior team in 1939.[6] Fleming lined out in Waterford's 2–13 to 3–08 defeat by Cork in the 1943 Munster final.

Five years later, Fleming was at right corner-back when Waterford won their first Munster SHC title in a decade, following a one–point win over Cork in the final.[7] He was again at right corner-back on the first Waterford team to win the All-Ireland SHC, when Dublin were beaten by 6–07 to 4–02 in the 1948 All-Ireland final.[8]

Inter-provincial career

Fleming played in eight Railway Cup campaigns with Munster between 1943 and 1951. Lining out at wing-back, he won four successive Railway Cup medals between 1943 and 1946. Munster were beaten by Connacht in 1947, with Fleming being left out of the team in 1948. Waterford's All-Ireland SHC success and his part in it resulted in Fleming being recalled to the Munster team. He won a further three successive Railway Cup titles between 1949 and 1951.[9] Fleming completely retired from hurling following Munster's win over Leinster in the 1949 Railway Cup final.

Death

Fleming died on 27 March 2011, aged 94.[10]

Honours

Mount Sion
Stradbally
Waterford
Munster
  • Railway Cup (7): 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951

References

  1. ^ "Birth record for Andrew Fleming". Irish Genealogy. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Keepers of the flame". Irish Independent. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Andy Fleming". Hogan Stand. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Waterford's sporting heroes honoured in new exhibition". WLRfm. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  5. ^ "'The bedroom was in Kilkenny, the kitchen in Waterford'". Irish Examiner. 6 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Walsh brilliance seals it for Waterford". The Sunday Times. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Senior hurling". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  8. ^ "The Men of 48". The Munster Express. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Railway Cup hurling". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  10. ^ "The death has occurred of Andy FLEMING". rip.ie. 27 March 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2026.