James Smyth (1 January 1931 – 9 February 2013) was an Irish hurler who played as a full-forward for the Clare senior team.
Smyth made his first appearance for the team during the 1948–49 National Hurling League and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1967 championship.
After retirement from play Smyth, in 1984 he was named on a special Hurling Team of the Century made up of players never to have won an All-Ireland medal.
At Flan nan's he was a hurling protégé, going straight into the Dean Ryan Cup team as a thirteen-year-old and winning his first medal when Ennis won the junior championship.
He won his first Harty Cup medal that year as St. Flannan's defeated the North Monastery of Cork to take the title.
It was a successful year as Ruan defeated Clarecastle in the county decider, giving Smyth his first championship medal.
He made his debut as a fourteen-year-old in 1945 and subsequently set up what must be an all-time record for Clare by playing at this grade for five years in a row.
[3] As a seventeen-year-old Smyth made his senior debut in a National Hurling League game against Galway in 1948.
He played no part in the subsequent 1949 championship due to his involvement as captain of the Clare junior hurling team.
All-Ireland runners-up Wexford provided the opposition on that occasion, however, the game ended in a 2–8 apiece draw.
Defeats of Cork and Tipperary led to Clare being installed as the favourites to take the Munster crown for the first time since 1932.
Smyth added a Thomond Feis medal to his collection in 1956 as Clare won the pre-season warm-up tournament.
A narrow 2–8 to 2–7 defeat of Leinster in a replay gave Smyth his seventh Railway Cup medal on the field of play and an eight overall.
Following his retirement in 1988 Smyth studied philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993.
His Master of Arts thesis was based on the songs, poems and recitations of Gaelic games in Munster.