Liam Blanchfield
Personal information
Irish name Liam de Bluinsín
Sport Hurling
Position Left wing-forward
Born (1996-11-18) 18 November 1996
Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Occupation Student
Club(s)*
Years Club Apps (scores)
2013-present
 Bennettsbridge 9 (2-11)
Club titles
Kilkenny titles 0
Colleges(s)
Years College
2015-present
 Dublin Institute of Technology
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 0
Inter-county(ies)**
Years County Apps (scores)
2016-present
 Kilkenny 16 (2-06)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles 1
All-Irelands 0
NHL 1
All Stars 0
* club appearances and scores correct as of 20:33, 12 December 2019.
**Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 20:31, 12 December 2019.

Liam Blanchfield (born 18 November 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays for Kilkenny Senior Championship club Bennettsbridge and at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a left wing-forward.

Playing career

St. Kieran's College

Blanchfield first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny. Having played in every grade as a hurler, he was eventually called up the college's senior team. On 9 March 2014, Blanchfield scored a point when St. Kieran's College suffered a 2–13 to 0–13 defeat by Kilkenny CBS in the Leinster final.[1] On 5 April 2014, he was switched to centre-forward for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny CBS and collected a winners' medal following the 2–16 to 0–13 victory.[2]

On 28 February 2015, Blanchfield won a Leinster Championship medal when St. Kieran's College defeated St. Peter's College by 1–14 to 1–06 in the final.[3] He was selected at right wing-forward by spent much of the game at centre-forward when St. Kieran's College faced Thurles CBS in the All-Ireland final. Blanchfield scored a point from play and collected a second successive All-Ireland medal following the 1–15 to 1–12 victory.[4]

Bennettsbridge

Blanchfield joined the Bennettsbridge club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels and enjoyed championship success in the minor grade. He eventually joined the club's top adult team in the Kilkenny Junior Championship.

On 4 November 2012, Blanchfield was just 15-years-old when he lined out at right corner-forward when Bennettsbridge qualified for the Kilkenny Junior Championship final. He scored a point from play but ended on the losing side following a 3–12 to 0–10 defeat by Thomastown.

Bennettsbridge qualified for a second successive Kilkenny Junior Championship final on 20 October 2013, with Blanchfield lining out at right wing-forward. He scored a point from play in the 2–16 to 1–18 defeat by Lisdowney.

On 9 November 2014, Cleere won a Kilkenny Junior Championship medal after scoring 1-01 from right corner-forward in a 1–17 to 1–07 defeat of Mooncoin in the final.[5] He retained his position at right corner-forward for the Leinster final on 6 December 2014 and ended the game with a winners' medal after the 1–20 to 0–03 defeat of Shamrocks.[6] Bennettsbridge subsequently qualified for an All-Ireland final meeting with Fullen Gaels on 15 February 2015. Blanchfield collected a winners' medal after scoring 1-01 from play in the 2–17 to 2–14 victory.[7]

On 18 October 2015, Blanchfield lined out in the forwards when Bennettsbridge drew 0–20 to 3–11 with St Patrick's Ballyragget in the Kilkenny Intermediate Championship final. He was again included on the starting fifteen for the replay on 24 October 2015 and collected a winners' medal after a 1–16 to 1–14 victory. Blanchfield won a Leinster Championship medal on 21 November 2015 after scoring two points from right corner-forward in a 1–14 to 0–13 defeat of Kiltale in the final.[8] On 7 February 2016, he was again selected at right corner-forward for the All-Ireland final against Abbeyknockmoy. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 1–17 to 1–14 victory.[9]

On 28 October 2018, Blanchfield lined out at centre-forward when Bennettsbridge faced Ballyhale Shamrocks in the Kilkenny Senior Championship final. He scored a point from play but ended on the losing side following a 2–20 to 2–17 defeat.[10]

Kilkenny

Minor and under-21

Blanchfield first played for Kilkenny as a member of the minor team during the 2013 Leinster Championship. On 7 July 2013, he won a Leinster Championship medal after scoring two points from right wing-forward in Kilkenny's 1–18 to 0–08 defeat of Laois in the final.[11]

On 6 July 2014, Blanchfield won a second successive Leinster Championship medal after scoring 2-03 from full-forward in Kilkenny's 2–19 to 2–10 defeat of Dublin in the final.[12] On 7 September 2014, he was again at full-forward when Kilkenny faced Limerick in the All-Ireland final. Blanchfield ended the game with a winners' medal after scoring two points in the 2–17 to 0–19 victory.[13]

Blanchfield progressed onto the Kilkenny under-21 team during the 2015 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 2 June 2015 when he lined out at left wing-forward in Kilkenny's 4–12 to 2–16 defeat of Dublin in the quarter-final.[14] On 8 July 2015, Blanchfield was again at left wing-forward when Kilkenny suffered a 4–17 to 1–09 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.[15]

On 5 July 2017, Blanchfield won a Leinster Championship medal after scoring a point from full-forward in 0–30 to 1–15 defeat of Wexford in the final.[16] On 9 September 2017, he was again at full-forward for Kilkenny's 0–17 to 0–11 defeat by Limerick in the All-Ireland final.[17]

Senior

Blanchfield was drafted onto the Kilkenny senior team during the 2016 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 3 April 2016 when he lined out at right corner-forward in a 6–20 to 0–14 defeat of Offaly.[18] Blanchfield made his Leinster Championship debut on 11 June 2016 when he came on as a 51st-minute substitute for Eoin Larkin in a 1–25 to 0–16 defeat of Dublin.[19] On 3 July 2016, he was an unused substitute when Kilkenny defeated Galway by 1–26 to 0–22 to win the Leinster Championship.[20] Blanchfield was back on the starting fifteen when he was selected at left corner-forward for the All-Ireland final against Tipperary on 4 September 2016. He was held scoreless throughout and ended the game on the losing side following a 2–29 to 2–20 defeat.[21]

On 8 April 2018, Blanchfield was named on the substitutes' bench when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the National League final. He was introduced as a substitute for Alan Murphy and collected a winners' medal following the 2–23 to 2–17 victory.[22] Blanchfield was again selected on the substitutes' bench when Kilkenny faced Galway in the Leinster final on 1 July 2018. He came on as a substitute for Martin Keoghan in the 0-18 apiece draw.[23] He again made an appearance as a substitute in the replay a week later, however, Kilkenny suffered a 1–28 to 3–15 defeat.[24]

On 30 June 2019, Blanchfield was an unused substitute when Kilkenny suffered a 1–23 to 0–23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.[25] On 18 August 2019, he was again listed amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Blanchfield remained on the bench for the 3–25 to 0–20 defeat.[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 August 2019.
Team Year National League Leinster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Kilkenny 2016 Division 1A 21-0310-0020-0351-06
2017 51-0610-0020-0081-06
2018 80-0562-0210-01152-08
2019 51-0220-0010-0081-02
Total 203-16102-0260-04365-22

Honours

St. Kieran's College
Bennettsbridge
Kilkenny

References

  1. ↑ Cormican, Eoghan (10 March 2014). "Byrne the hero as CBS grab the glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Spillane, Trevor (5 April 2014). "19th All-Ireland for St. Kieran's after win over Kilkenny CBS". The 42. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Schools: St Kieran's back in the winners enclosure". Hogan Stand. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Cahill, Jackie (5 April 2015). "Kilkenny school St Kieran's have won their 20th All-Ireland title". The 42. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Bennettsbridge bring cup to Martin's grave". Hogan Stand. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  6. ↑ "Leinster Club JHC final: Bennettsbridge enjoy runaway success". Hogan Stand. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  7. ↑ "Nicky Cleere's haul points the way for Bennettsbridge". Irish Examiner. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "'Bridge win comes at cost". Irish Examiner. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Keane, Paul (7 February 2016). "Kilkenny's Bennettsbridge claim second All-Ireland club title in 12 months". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. ↑ Breheny, Martin (28 October 2018). "Henry Shefflin launches managerial career as Ballyhale win Kilkenny championship". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "Murphy points the way as Kilkenny cruise past Laois to claim crown". Irish Independent. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Kelly, Niall (6 July 2014). "Kilkenny power past Dublin to retain their Leinster minor crown". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  13. ↑ O'Riordan, Ian (7 September 2014). "Kilkenny minors savour All-Ireland success against spirited Limerick". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  14. ↑ O'Toole, Fintan (2 June 2015). "Late goal gives Kilkenny dramatic win over Dublin in Leinster U21 hurling thriller". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  15. ↑ "Leinster U21 HC final: Magical Model maul Cats for three-in-a-row". Hogan Stand. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  16. ↑ O'Brien, Kevin (5 July 2017). "Kilkenny land 30 points en route to completing U21 and minor Leinster hurling double". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  17. ↑ Cormican, Eoghan (11 September 2017). "Limerick savour that September excitement in U21 hurling final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  18. ↑ Keane, Paul (3 April 2016). "Kilkenny fire six goals en route to 24-point hammering over Offaly in league quarter final". The 42. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  19. ↑ O'Toole, Fintan (11 June 2016). "Kilkenny's second-half class powers them past Dublin in Leinster hurling semi-final". The 42. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  20. ↑ McGoldrick, Seán (3 July 2016). "Galway challenge peters out as Kilkenny claim 71st Leinster crown in familiar style". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  21. ↑ Keane, Paul (5 September 2016). "Tipperary blow Cats away to take All-Ireland title". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  22. ↑ McGoldrick, Seán (8 April 2018). "Kilkenny whirlwind blows Tipperary away as Brian Cody claims ninth league title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  23. ↑ "Leinster SHC final: Cats and Tribe must meet again". Hogan Stand. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  24. ↑ Rooney, Declan (8 July 2018). "Galway retain Leinster crown after epic battle with Kilkenny". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  25. ↑ O'Brien, Kevin (30 June 2019). "Wexford land first Leinster title in 15 years with thrilling victory over Kilkenny". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  26. ↑ McGoldrick, Seán (18 August 2019). "Tipperary are All-Ireland champions as Liam Sheedy's men see off 14-man Kilkenny in Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
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