Tipperary hurling legends recall special memories of Theo English

Nicky English
Nicky English has one really special memory of Theo English on the day of his iconic kicked goal against Cork in the Munster final in Thurles in 1987.
“I will never forget Theo jumping up and down when I kicked the goal. He was the first person I saw in that moment. Theo was down at that end of the field,”
Speaking about Theo’s role on the Tipperary management team which saw the end of the famine days, Nicky English said “Theo was very confident. He was a great tactician. His message was simple and direct - if you prepared well you performed well.”
“His influence was huge at the time. He did not have any baggage, whereas as a group we were not used to winning. He only saw you had to be successful if you did everything correctly. He wanted players to look after themselves, do it right and success would follow and he was right,” said Nicky.

Donie Nealon

Donie Nealon, who played with Theo English for eight glorious years on the senior Tipperary team, said he had the highest regard for Theo as a hurler and a person.
“Theo was one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He was physically very strong, I can’t remember any man beating him in a contest. Nobody could knock him off the ball. He was so consistent. He was a great first-time hurler on the ground and in the air. I was honoured to play with Theo,” said Donie Nealon.

John Leahy
John Leahy has some very special memories of Theo English both at county and club level.
“Theo was a huge inspiration to me. Like him I came from a junior club and from the South division. As a young player, when you step up to train with the senior panel, you can be a bit overawed but Theo really helped me settle into it. His concentration on work ethic and his direct and simple message to the players worked. I have great memories of Theo as manager of Mullinahone. He brought us to our first senior county hurling final in 1997.We were unlucky to lose that day to Clonoulty. We came so close. For Theo it was all about identity and coming from Marlfield he knew what that meant to everybody in the village of Mullinahone,” said John.