Joseph Bergin (born 22 September 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays for Offaly Championship club Seir Kieran. He was a member of the Offaly senior hurling team for 14 seasons, during which time he usually lined out as a full-forward.
Playing career Seir Kieran
Bergin joined the Seir Kieran club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying championship success in the under-21 grade in 2008.
Offaly Minor and under-21
Bergin first played for Offaly as a member of the minor team during the 2004 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance on 10 April when he came on as a 23rd-minute substitute for Colin O'Meara in a 0-14 to 1-10 defeat of Laois.
Bergin was again eligible for the minor team for the 2005 Leinster Championship. He progressed onto the Offaly under-21 team during the 2006 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance on 21 June when he scored two points in 0-17 to 1-11 defeat by Dublin.
On 18 June 2007, Bergin lined out in the Leinster final. He scored 1-01 from full-forward in the 2-18 to 3-09 defeat by Dublin.
Bergin lined out at full-forward in a second consecutive Leinster final on 24 July 2008. He top scored for Offaly with 2-01 in the 2-21 to 2-09 defeat by Kilkenny. It was his last game in the grade.
Senior
Bergin was just 18-years-old when he was added to the Offaly senior team for the 2006 National League. He made his first appearance on 19 February and scored 1-01 in a 1-21 to 2-18 draw with Cork. Bergin made his first appearance in the Leinster Championship on 21 May. He scored 1-01 from full-forward in 2-12 to 0-08 defeat of Laois.
On 3 May 2009, Bergin lined out at full-forward when Offaly faced Wexford in the National League Division 2 final. In spite of being held scoreless he collected a winners' medal following the 1-13 to 0-13 victory.
On 15 January 2020, Bergin announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
Leinster
Bergin was selected for the Leinster inter-provincial team for the first time during the 2007 Championship. He made his first appearance on 14 October and scored a goal in the 2-19 to 0-12 defeat of Ulster in the semi-final. Bergin was switched to full-forward for the final against Connacht on 28 October. He scored 1-03 from play and collected a Railway Cup winners' medal after the 1-23 to 0-17 victory.
On 1 November 2008, Bergin was an unused substitute when Leinster faced Munster in the 2008 Railway Cup final. He collected a winners' medal following the 1-15 to 1-12 victory.
Bergin returned to the Leinster starting fifteen during the 2009 Championship. On 14 March, he was at full-forward when Leinster faced Connacht in the final. Bergin scored 1-01 and collected a third winners' medal after the 3-18 to 1-17 victory.
After the championship's two-year absence, Bergin was again included on the Leinster team for the 2012 Championship. On 4 March, he scored two points from centre-forward when Leinster defeated Connacht by 2-19 to 1-15 to win the title.
On 1 March 2014, Bergin was included as a substitute on the Leinster team that faced Connacht in the Railway Cup final. He was introduced as a substitute for Jack Guiney and collected a fifth winners' medal following a 1-23 to 0-16 victory.
Career statistics
TeamYearNational LeagueMcDonagh CupLeinsterAll-IrelandTotalDivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreOffaly2006Division 1A64-11—21-0233-04118-17200766-31—20-0230-01116-342008Division 1B50-07—20-0223-0393-122009Division 280-15—10-0220-04110-212010Division 171-11—32-0620-04123-21201172-14—10-0310-0192-182012Division 1B50-13—21-0310-0381-19201331-06—12-0010-0253-08201461-29—10-0120-0891-38201560-14—10-0110-0180-16201662-06—54-0710-01126-142017——20-0110-0330-04201851-17—42-09—93-26201944-2541-26——85-51Career total7422-19941-262712-39206-3512541-299
Honours
Seir Kieran Offaly Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2019 Offaly Under-21 A Hurling Championship (1): 2008 Offaly Senior Hurling League (Pat Carroll Cup) (2): 2011, 2016 Offaly Senior 'B' Hurling Championship (1): 2019
Offaly National Hurling League Division 2 (1): 2009
Leinster Railway Cup (5): 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014
Ireland Shinty/Hurling International Series (2): 2009, 2011
References
External links Joe Bergin profile at the Offaly GAA website