Ger Henderson

Ger Henderson (born 1954) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team^[1] in the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Ger Henderson was born in Johnstown, County Kilkenny in 1954. He was educated locally at Johnstown national school where his interest in hurling first began. Later, Henderson and his two brothers, Pat and John, would form the backbone of the great Kilkenny team of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Playing career

Club

Henderson played his club hurling with the local Fenians club in Johnstown where he enjoyed much success. He was too young to play senior hurling when the club triumphed winning county championship titles in the early 1970s, however, he did win county title and a Leinster club title in 1974.

Inter-county

By 1972, Henderson was a key player when the Kilkenny minor hurling team won the All-Ireland title. He later joined the county’s under-21 side, winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1974 and 1975. By this stage, Henderson was also a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling panel. In 1976, he tasted his first senior hurling success when he won a National Hurling League medal. Two years later, in 1978, Henderson had taken over from his brother Pat as centre-back on the team, and he won his first Leinster title that year. Unfortunately, Kilkenny were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final. In spite of this, Henderson’s championship performance earned him his first All-Star award.

In 1979, Henderson captured a second Leinster title before later collecting his first All-Ireland following a win over Galway. Once again he was presented with an All-Star award, as well as claiming the Texaco Hurler of the Year award. Three years later, Kilkenny had a hugely successful season. Henderson won a second National League and a third Leinster medal, before winning a second All-Ireland medal^[1] following a win over Cork. Once again, his excellent performance at centre-back earned him his third All-Star award. In 1983, Henderson captured another quartet of National League, Leinster, All-Ireland^[1] and All-Star honours.

The following few years saw Kilkenny’s hurling fortunes take a downturn. In spite of this, Henderson won a fourth National League in 1986, before adding a fifth Leinster title in 1987. Kilkenny were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland final.

References