Irish name Liam Ó hUiginn Position Midfield Years Club All irelands 1 | Sport Hurling Occupation Army officer Cork titles 0 NHL 1 | |
William "Bill" Higgins was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Cork senior team.
Contents
Higgins first excelled at hurling in his youth. He arrived on the inter-county scene when he first linked up with the Cork junior team. He made his senior debut during the 1925-26 league. Higgins immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen, and won one All-Ireland medal, two Munster medals and one National Hurling League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.
At club level Higgins played with Collins.
Throughout his career Higgins made 11 championship appearances. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1927 championship.
Inter-county
Higgins first appeared for Cork as a member of the junior team in 1925. He won a Munster medal that year following a 6-3 to 4-2 defeat of Clare in the decider. Higgins played no part in the subsequent All-Ireland decider which Cork won following a 5-6 to 1-0 defeat of Dublin.
Good performances for the junior team saw Higgins being added to the Cork senior team during the 1925-26 league. It was a successful campaign for Cork and Higgins collected a National Hurling League medal following a 3-7 to 1-5 defeat of Dublin in the decider. He made his senior championship debut on 30 May 1926 in a 12-3 to 5-2 Munster quarter-final defeat of Waterford. Higgins later won his first Munster medal following a three-game saga with Tipperary, culminating in a 3-6 to 2-4 victory for Cork. On 24 October 1926 he lined out in his first senior All-Ireland decider, as Cork faced Kilkenny for the first time since 1912. At a snow-covered Croke Park, the first half was even enough with Cork holding an interval lead of one point, however, Kilkenny slumped in the second half, going down to a 4-6 to 2-0 defeat. The victory gave Higgins a coveted All-Ireland medal.
Cork retained the provincial crown in 1927, with Higgins collecting a second Munster medal following a 5-3 to 3-4 defeat of Clare. He was on the starting fifteen again for Cork's subsequent All-Ireland meeting with Dublin on 4 September 1927. The Metropolitans were well on top in the opening thirty minutes and took a 2-3 to 0-1 lead at the interval. Cork fought back in the third quarter, however, an expert display of goalkeeping by Tommy Daly saved the day by keeping Mick "Gah" Ahern scoreless, as Dublin went on to win by 4-8 to 1-3. It was Higgins's last championship appearance for Cork.