Damian Casey (1993 – 17 June 2022)[5] was an Irish hurler who played for the Eoghan Ruadh, Dungannon, club and at senior level for the Tyrone county team.
Regarded as his county's greatest ever hurler who—at the time of his death—was "at the peak of his powers",[2][4][5] Casey played as a full-forward.
[3] He won the Nicky Rackard Cup again in 2022 in what was his final game for his county, shortly before his death at the age of 29.
[5][7] Casey made his first appearance on the inter-county scene when he was selected for the Tyrone under-16 hurling team.
[10] Casey scored fourteen points (including nine from frees and two 65s) from Tyrone's total of 1–27 in the 2022 Nicky Rackard Cup final eleven-point win against Roscommon at Croke Park on 21 May.
[4] His statistics compare favorably with Patrick Horgan, the Cork hurler who is the record scorer at senior level, with Horgan's point average per game at the time of Casey's death being about 8.4, while Casey's ultimate point average per game was 10.01.
[4]On 18 June 2022, it was announced that Casey had died the previous day[2] in Spain, where he had planned to attend a wedding as a groomsman.
[12] Ahead of the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals, which took place at Semple Stadium the day after Casey's death, a minute's silence was held, with RTÉ pundit Anthony Daly stating: "He scored 14 points in Croke Park just a few weeks ago.