Irish name Padraig O Croinin Years Club All stars 0 Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) All irelands 0 | Position Centre Forward Role Hurler Sport Hurling Name Patrick Cronin Nhl 0 | |
Born 20 May 1987 (age 36)
Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland ( 1987-05-20 ) Occupation Secondary School Teacher | ||
Patrick Cronin (born 20 May 1987) is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a centre-forward for the Cork senior team.
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Born in Ballincollig, Cronin first played competitive hurling and tech graph in his youth. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He joined the senior panel during the 2006 championship. Since then Cronin has become a regular member of the starting fifteen and has won one Munster medal. He has been an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team Cronin has won one Railway Cup medal. At club level he has won numerous championship medals with Bishopstown.
Club
Cronin first tasted club success during Bishopstown's underage hurling boom. After winning back-to-back minor championship medals in 2003 and 2004, he later collected back-to-back under-21 championship medals in 2006 and 2007.
In 2006 Cronin was a key member of Bishopstown's top team that faced Carrigtwohill in the final of the premier intermediate championship. A 0-20 to 1-11 victory gave him a Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship medal.
Inter-county
Cronin first lined out with Cork in the minor grade in 2004. That year he won his first Munster medal as Cork ended Tipperary's hopes of four-in-a-row with a 2-13 to 3-8 victory.
The following year Cronin was captain of the Cork minor team as he captured a second consecutive Munster medal following a 2-18 to 1-15 defeat of Limerick. Cronin top scored with 1-10.
Cronin subsequently joined the Cork under-21 team. He won a Munster medal in this grade in 2007 following a 1-20 to 0-10 trouncing of Waterford.
By this stage Cronin had joined the extended Cork senior hurling panel. He was an unused substitute during Cork's victorious Munster campaign and the team's subsequent All-Ireland final defeat by Kilkenny.
Cronin made his senior championship debut on 27 May 2007 in Cork's 1-18 to 1-11 Munster quarter-final defeat of Clare.
In 2013 Cronin was appointed captain of the Cork senior hurling team. He later guided the team to the Munster decider, however, Limerick defeated Cork by 0-24 to 0-15. On 8 September 2013 Cronin lined out against Clare in his first All-Ireland final. Three second-half goals through Conor Lehane, Anthony Nash and Cronin himself, and a tenth point of the game from Patrick Horgan gave Cork a one-point lead as injury time came to an end. A last-gasp point from corner-back Domhnall O'Donovan earned Clare a 0-25 to 3-16 draw. The replay on 28 September was regarded as one of the best in recent years. Clare's Shane O'Donnell was a late addition to the team, and went on to score a hat-trick of goals in the first nineteen minutes of the game. Patrick Horgan top scored for Cork, however, further goals from Conor McGrath and Darach Honan secured a 5-16 to 3-16 victory for Clare.
Cronin was again captain of the Cork team in 2014, and won his first Munster medal on the field of play as goals by Séamus Harnedy and Paudie O'Sullivan gave Cork a 2-24 to 0-24 victory over Limerick.
Inter-provincial
Cronin has also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial series of games. In 2-13 he was at midfield when he claimed his first winners' medal following a 1-22 to 0-15 defeat of Connacht.