Sylvester Linnane (born 29 December 1956) is an Irish retired 3 time All-Star winning hurler who played as a right corner-back for the Galway senior team.
As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team, Linnane won four Railway Cup medals.
In 1981 Linnane was a key member of the Gort senior team, as they qualified for their first championship decider in over thirty years.
The replay was more conclusive, with Ger Fennelly's first-half goal leading to a 1–10 to 0–7 defeat of Linnane's side.
Linnane made his senior championship debut for Galway in a 3–12 to 3–9 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat of Kerry.
[6] In one of the worst All-Ireland finals of the decade, Tipperary-born Galway goalkeeper Séamus Shinnors had an absolute nightmare of a game.
A 70-yards free by Liam "Chunky" O'Brien after just four minutes dipped, hit off Shinnors and ended up in the Galway net.
Galway fought back and went two points up twelve minutes into the second half, however, they failed to score for the rest of the game.
Bernie Forde and P. J. Molloy goals for Galway meant that the men from the west led by 2–7 to 1–5 at half-time.
[7] It was Galway's first All-Ireland title since 1923, with Linnane picking up a winners' medal and the celebrations surpassed anything ever seen in Croke Park.
Offaly 'keeper Damien Martin was doing great work in batting out an almost certain Galway goal early in the second-half.
The men from the west were the red-hot favourites against an ageing Cork team, however, on the day a different story unfolded.
Four Cork goals, one from John Fenton, two from Tomás Mulcahy and one from Kevin Hennessy, stymied the Galway attack and helped "the Rebels" to a 4–13 to 2–15 victory.
Noel Lane was introduced as a substitute once again and scored a crucial goal while Nicky English sent a late penalty over the bar for a point.
For the third time in as many years both sides later met in the All-Ireland series, however, on this occasion the men from the West were controversially without their star player Tony Keady.
In 1980 Linnane was at left wing-back as Connacht faced Railway Cup specialists Munster in the decider.