Michael O'Brien is an Irish Catholic

Roman Catholicism in Ireland

The Catholic Church in Ireland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Christian Church with full communion with the Pope, currently Benedict XVI...

 priest and a former hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 manager

Manager (Gaelic games)

In Gaelic games, a manager or coach is an individual involved in the direction and instruction of the on-field operations of a team. Managing, or coaching, entails the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such...

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He served as coach of the Cork senior hurling team on several occasions, guiding the team to All-Ireland titles

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 in 1984 and 1990. Before the 1990 Munster final, Tipperary

Tipperary GAA

The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

 manager Babs Keating remarked "donkeys don't win derbies", which O'Brien exploited to motivate his players to victory. At club level he also managed UCC

UCC GAA

UCC is a football and hurling club associated with University College Cork. UCC teams play in the Cork Senior Football Championship and Cork Senior Hurling Championship as well as the two main third-level competitions namely the Sigerson Cup in football and the Fitzgibbon Cup in hurling...

 to Fitzgibbon Cup

Fitzgibbon Cup

The Fitzgibbon Cup the championship for top division of university hurling in Ireland. It is administrated by the Higher Education committee which is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association...

 titles, and later managed Blackrock

Blackrock GAA

Blackrock National Hurling Club is a G.A.A. club located on the southside of Cork City, Ireland. The club was founded in 1883 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling.-History:...

. He also helped coaching Coláiste Chríost Rí.

In 2010 he is a canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 in the diocese of Cloyne

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne

The Diocese of Cloyne is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The diocese is in the secular province of the same name - Munster...

, and parish priest of Buttevant

Buttevant

Buttevant is a medieval market town, incorporated by charter of Edward III, situated in North County Cork, Ireland.While there may be reason to suggest that the town may occupy the site of an earlier settlement of the Donegans, Carrig Donegan, the origins of the present town are clearly and...

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