Nickey Brennan

Nicholas "Nickey" Brennan (born 3 December 1953) is an Irish former hurler, manager and Gaelic games administrator.

Brennan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team.

The subsequent All-Ireland decider saw reigning champions and three-in-a-row hopefuls Cork providing the opposition.

Galway provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland decider and took a two-point lead twelve minuted into the second half, however, they failed to score again.

Two long-range goals from Liam "Chunky" O'Brien and Mick "Cloney" Brennan gave Kilkenny a 2–12 to 1–8 victory.

A 2–14 to 1–11 defeat of Wexford in the decider gave Brennan a first National Hurling League medal.

In spite of being regarded as underdogs, Christy Heffernan's two goals in a forty-second spell and a third by Ger Fennelly powered Kilkenny to a 3–18 to 1–15 victory, a game in which Brennan held Cork's famed captain Jimmy Barry-Murphy scoreless for 70 minutes.

In spite of this he was later dropped from the starting fifteen and was an unused substitute as Kilkenny retained their Leinster and All-Ireland crowns.

Brennan continued an involvement in the administration side of the GAA during the nineties and was elected to the position of chairman of the Leinster Council.

In April 2005 he defeated his Munster Council counterpart, Christy Cooney, and was duly elected president.

Brennan travelled 160,000 miles in Ireland alone during his three years as president, and visited Great Britain, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East on several occasions, meeting dignitaries such as New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg along the way.