Willie "Bowler" Walsh was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club 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:...

 and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1912 until 1915.

Inter-county

Walsh first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork senior team in the early part of the 20th century. He first tasted success in 1912 when he captured a Munster

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....

 winners’ medal following a 5-2 to 3-2 defeat of 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...

. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork take on arch rivals Kilkenny

Kilkenny GAA

The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

. A close game ensued, however, a Sim Walton

Sim Walton

Simon 'Sim' Walton was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Tullaroan and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the first two decades of the 20th century. Walton captained Kilkenny to the All-Ireland title in 1912.Waltons’s status as one of Kilkenny’s...

 goal gave ‘the Cats’ a lift and helped them to a 2-1 to 1-3 victory over Cork and a second consecutive All-Ireland title.

Cork lost their provincial crown in 1913; however, in 1915 ‘the Rebels’ were back. An 8-2 to 2-1 defeat of Clare

Clare GAA

The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....

 gave Walsh a second Munster winners’ medal. Cork later lined out in the All-Ireland final with Laois

Laois GAA

The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois and the Laois inter-county teams.-History:...

 providing the opposition. Walsh’s side were the overwhelming favourites going into the game and took a 3-0 to 2-2 lead at half-time. A terrible downpour hampered the hurling with some players lining out in their overcoats. At full-time Laois were the champions for the first and only time in their history.

Family

Walsh is part of a Cork hurling dynasty. His son-in-law, Willie Cummins

Willie Cummins

Willie Cummins was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Carrigtwohill and was a member of the Cork minor and senior inter-county teams in the late 1930s and early 1940s.-Club:...

, played hurling with the Cork minor team in the 1930s. He captured back-to-back All-Ireland

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship is an annual competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for competitors under eighteen years of age in the game of hurling played in Ireland.The series of games are played during the summer months with the All-Ireland final...

 minor titles in 1938 and 1939. Walsh’s grandsons, Kevin

Kevin Cummins (hurler)

Kevin Cummins is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and was a member of the Cork minor hurling team in the 1960s. Cummins captained Cork to the All-Ireland title at minor level in 1964. He is the brother of Brendan and Ray Cummins, who both went on to...

, Ray

Ray Cummins

Ray Cummins is a retired Irish sportsperson. A dual player at the highest levels, he played hurling with his local club Blackrock and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1969 until 1982. Cummins also played Gaelic football with his local club St...

 and Brendan Cummins

Brendan Cummins (Cork hurler)

Brendan Cummins is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1970s.-Club:...

, all wore the red jersey of Cork at various levels from the 1960s until the 1980s. Kevin captained ‘the Rebels’ to the All-Ireland minor title in 1964. Ray captained the Cork senior team to the first of three All-Ireland titles in-a-row in 1976 while Brendan was also a key member of the team.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
  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....
  
  :
  • Winner (0):
  • Runner-up (2): 1912, 1915
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship
  Munster Senior Hurling Championship
  The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
  
  :
  • Winner (2): 1912, 1915