Pat McDonnell (born 18 March 1950) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-back for the Cork senior team.
He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of eighteen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team before later joining the under-21 and intermediate sides.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, McDonnell won one Railway Cup medal as a non-playing substitute.
[citation needed] During his schooling at Presentation Brothers College McDonnell played with various rugby union teams.
During his studies at University College Cork McDonnell came played competitively as a hurler and as a rugby player.
McDonnell was at full-back on the team for the last time in 1972 as University College Cork reached a third decider in four seasons.
A 3–11 to 0–6 beating of University College Galway gave McDonnell his second successive Fitzgibbon Cup medal.
As a student McDonnell had success on the club scene as a member of the University College Cork team in 1970.
[2] McDonnell first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling and football teams in 1968.
He made his hurling debut in the provincial decider on 21 July 1968 and collected a Munster medal following a 7–8 to 5–4 defeat of Waterford.
Cork faced Wexford in the subsequent All-Ireland decider on 11 October 1970, however, that game ended in a 3–8 to 2–11 draw.
On 12 September 1971 Wexford stood in the way of Cork securing a record-breaking fourth successive championship and a high-scoring game ensued.
It was a successful campaign for the Rebels as an aggregate 5–21 to 6–16 defeat of New York gave McDonnell his first National Hurling League medal.
[8][9] McDonnell was dropped from the Cork panel in 1973, however, he returned in 1975 and collected a third Munster medal following a 3–14 to 0–12 defeat of reigning provincial champions 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.
Cork faced Clare in the provincial decider in 1977, on a day when armed robbers made away with the takings from the gate of £24,579 during the second half of the game.
In spite of this he collected another Munster medal as a non-playing substitute following Cork's 0–13 to 0–11 provincial final defeat of Clare.
A 1–15 to 2–8 victory secured a third championship title in succession and a fourth All-Ireland winners' medal for McDonnell, his second as a substitute.
[14][15] Injuries had led to McDonnell playing a reduced role in the previous few years and he retired from inter-county hurling following Cork's three-in-a-row success.
In 1990 McDonnell was a selector with the Cork minor hurling team that secured the Munster title following a 1–9 to 0–9 defeat of Clare.
1998 saw Cork maintaining their provincial under-21 dominance with the side collecting a second Munster title following a 3–18 to 1–10 victory over Tipperary.
[18] McDonnell was also a selector with the Cork senior team during a controversial period in 2002 when the players went on strike for better conditions.
The third eldest in a family of three boys and three girls he was educated at Tullig National School before later attending Presentation Brothers College in Cork.
He then took up teaching as a profession and was appointed to St. Patricks Girl's Secondary School in 1972 where he taught Science and Biology until 1975.