Jody Grace (born 9 November 1967[1]) is an Irish former hurler. At club level he played with Toomevara, and also lined out at inter-county level with various Tipperary teams.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Born | 9 November 1967 Toomevara, County Tipperary, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1984-1997 | Toomevara | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Tipperary titles | 3 | ||
| Munster titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1991-1995 | Tipperary | 1 (0-00) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
Career
Grace first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Toomevara club, winning numerous championship titles from under-12 up to under-21 level. He was just 17-years-old when he was part of the Toomevera team that won the Tipperary IHC title in 1984. Grace later won three successive Tipperary SHC medals from 1992 to 1994.[2] He was captain of the team for the second of these victories, when Toomevara also claimed the Munster Club SHC title before later losing the 1994 All-Ireland club final to Sarsfields.[3][4]
Grace first appeared on the inter-county scene with Tipperary as goalkeeper on the minor team beaten by Cork in the 1985 Munster final. He later spent one season with the under-21 team. Grace was goalkeeper for the Tipperary junior team that beat Galway in the 1989 All-Ireland junior final.[5] He earned promotion to the senior team following this victory and was sub-goalkeeper to Ken Hogan when Tipperary won the All-Ireland SHC title after beating Kilkenny in the 1991 final.[6]
Grace continued as sub-goalkeeper for a number of seasons and claimed a second Munster SHC medal in 1993 before winning a National League medal on the field of play in 1994.[7] He was first-choice goalkeeper that season and made his only championship appearance in a defeat by Clare. Grace broke a finger prior to the start of the 1995 Munster SHC, an injury which saw him being replaced by Brendan Cummins as goalkeeper.[8]
Honours
- Toomevara
- Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship: 1993 (c)
- Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship: 1992, 1993 (c), 1994
- North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship: 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997
- Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship: 1984
- Tipperary Under-21 A Hurling Championship; 1986, 1987
- Tipperary