Sport Hurling Years Club All stars 2 Nickname The Viking All irelands 2 | Height 6’2” Name Cormac Bonnar Position Full-forward Tipperary titles 1 | |
Cormac "The Viking" Bonnar is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with the Tipperary inter-county team from 1988 until 1992.
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Early life
Bonnar was one of a family of thirteen, and played his junior hurling for Cashel CBS before progressing to the local Cashel King Cormac's club.
Personal life
Bonnar was born on 31 May 1959 (Age 55). In 1988 his wife Nesta gave birth to his son Turlough and to his daughter Caoimhe. Bonnar now known as Bonner was the principal of Presentation Secondary School Milltown. Bonnar was also a maths teacher and his son Turlough still currently works in Milltown school. In December 2015 Bonner retired from teaching.
Club
He enjoyed some success at underage levels, but by the end of the county championship in 1987 he had decided to retire from club hurling. The decision was taken, not because he was tired of hurling, but because of the travelling involved. Bonnar's side played Clonoulty in the first round of the championship and, against all the predictions, beat them and went all the way to the county semi-final. In spite of intending to retire, Bonnar decided to continue club hurling. In 1991 he won a senior county championship before later claiming a Munster club hurling title. He later played with St. Patricks East Kerry and Dr. Crokes.
Inter-county
Bonnar had played for the Tipperary minor and under-21 hurlers in the late 1970s with some success. In 1980 he won a Munster medal with the under-21 team, before later converting this into an All-Ireland medal. Bonnar, however, found it hard to break onto the senior team.
His performance in the Tipperary county championship in 1988 impressed the inter-county selectors and he was called up for the Munster final against Cork. Bonnar came on as a substitute late in the game and scored the winning goal. He was retained on the team for the All-Ireland semi-final and the All-Ireland final loss to Galway. Bonnar became a regular performer in the National Hurling League and won a second Munster title in 1989. This was later converted into his first senior All-Ireland medal following a final victory over Antrim. Bonnar’s performance in the championship earned him his first All-Star award.
In 1990 Bonnar was dropped from the team for the Munster final against Cork, however, he returned in 1991 and captured a third provincial medal before later winning his second All-Ireland medal following a win over Kilkenny. His performance in the championship once again earned Bonnar a second All-Star award. Following Tipp's defeat by Cork in the 1992 Munster semi-final Bonnar retired from inter-county hurling.
Bonnar currently lives in County Kerry and is the principal of Miltown Secondary School.