Martin O'Doherty (born 26 March 1952) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-back for the Cork senior team.
[1] Born in Galway, O'Doherty first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Coláiste Chríost Rí.
He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Cork minor teams as a dual player, before later joining the under-21 sides.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, O'Doherty won one Railway Cup medal.
During his schooling at Coláiste Chríost Rí in Cork, O'Doherty established himself as a key member of the senior hurling and Gaelic football teams.
In 1968 he secured a remarkable provincial double, winning Harty Cup and Corn Uí Mhuirí medals following respective defeats of CBS Sexton Street and Coláiste Íosagáin.
Two years later O'Doherty won a second Corn Uí Mhuirí medal following another defeat of Coláiste Íosagáin.
O'Doherty enjoyed little success with Glen Rovers in the minor and under-21 grades, however, by 1972 he was a key member of the senior team.
Tom Buckley and Red Crowley inspired the Glen to a 2–18 to 2–8 victory, giving O'Doherty his first All-Ireland medal.
Glen Rovers surrendered their titles the following season, however, the team bounced back in 1976 with O'Doherty as captain.
A relatively comfortable 2–12 0–8 victory gave O'Doherty a second All-Ireland medal, while he also had the honour of lifting the cup as captain.
He was a late addition to the starting fifteen, making his debut in the All-Ireland decider against Sligo on 22 September 1968.
A week later O'Doherty won his first Munster medal with the hurlers as Tipperary were accounted for on a score line of 1–12 to 2–4.
He was an unused substitute as the Cork hurlers defeated Wexford by 5–17 to 0–8 in a replay of the All-Ireland decider, however, he was a regular member of the under-21 football side for the latter stages of the championship.
The following year O'Doherty missed the Cork junior footballers provincial campaign, however, he was at left corner-back for the All-Ireland decider against Hertfordshire on 1 October 1972.
O'Doherty made his senior championship debut on 4 July 1971 in a 2–16 to 2–14 Munster semi-final defeat by Limerick.
Wexford had a two-point lead with ten minutes to go, however, three points from Jimmy Barry-Murphy, two from Pat Moylan and a kicked effort from Ray Cummins gave Cork a 2–21 to 4–11 victory.
Seánie O'Leary score the decisive goal for Cork as the game entered the last quarter, while Martin Coleman brought off a match-winning save from Christy Keogh to foil the Wexford comeback.
Cork went on to secure a first three-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles for the first time in over twenty years, as a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1–15 to 2–8 victory over Kilkenny.
"The Cats", who many viewed as the underdogs, surprised all on the day, with Christy Heffernan scoring two goals in a forty-second spell just before the interval to take the wind out of Cork's sails.