John O'Brien (hurler)
John O'Brien (born 3 January 1982) is an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Toomevara, County Tipperary, O'Brien first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 2001 league. O'Brien went on to enjoy a lengthy career, and won two All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and one National Hurling League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions. At club level O'Brien is a two-time Munster medallist with Toomevara. In addition to this he has also won seven championship medals and three county final Man of the Match awards. His brother, Paddy O'Brien, is also an All-Ireland medallist with Tipperary. Throughout his career O'Brien made 36 championship appearances. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 26 November 2014. Playing career Club O'Brien plays his club hurling with Toomevara and has enjoyed much success in a lengthy career. After making his senior championship debut as a seventeen-year-old in 1999, Toomevara went on to qualify for a second successive county final. A 1-17 to 0-13 defeat of Nenagh Éire Óg gave O'Brien his first championship medal. Toomevara's championship dominance continued for a third consecutive year in 2000. A 2-10 to 0-11 defeat of Thurles Sarsfield's gave O'Brien his second championship medal. Both Toomevara and Thurles Sarsfield's met in the county final again in 2001. O'Brien's side were on the verge of history by becoming the third side in history to win four championships in-a-row. A 1-22 to 1-13 trouncing of the Thurles club gave O'Brien his third championship medal. Five-in-a-row proved beyond Toomevara, however, the team reached the county final once again in 2003. A 3-16 to 3-13 defeat of Thurles Sarsfield's once again, gave O'Brien his fourth championship medal. Toomevara retained their title in 2004 following a comfortable 4-12 to 2-12 win over Éire Óg/Golden. It was also a remarkable fifth championship medal in six seasons for O'Brien. After a number of early exits from the provincial championship in recent years, Toomevara subsequently defeated Mount Sion by just a single point to give O'Brien his first Munster medal. After surrendering their county and provincial titles in 2005, Toomevara returned to the county championship decider once again the following year. A thrilling 1-21 to 2-14 defeat of Nenagh Éire Óg, in which O'Brien top scored with 1-4 from play, saw Toomevara take the title once again. O'Brien later won a second Munster medal following a controversial 2-9 to 2-8 defeat of Erin's Own of Cork. In 2008 O'Brien won a seventh county championship medal following a 2-14 to 0-17 defeat of old rivals Thurles Sarsfield's. Minor & under-21 O'Brien was seventeen-years-old when he made his minor championship debut for Tipperary in 1999. He collected his first Munster medal that year following a 1–13 to 2-7 defeat of Clare. Tipp progressed to the All-Ireland final where Galway provided