anyone is hurling deserved to join Ring on the magical pinnacle of fame, that man is John Doyle of Holycross...For seventeen years, and to this day, they have had John Doyle, who more than any other player of this generation, personifies that traditional image of Tipperary hurling and hurling men." Clare hurling legend Jimmy Smyth wrote: "He embodied Tipperary hurling really. Tipperary had three great hurlers by the name of Doyle - you had Tommy, Jimmy, John. But if anyone spoke about 'Doyle' they weren't talking about Tommy or Jimmy, they were talking about John. When your name is reduced to either just your first or second name in the popular vernacular, then you're really something." Eddie Keher, a contemporary hurler from Kilkenny and one of the greatest of all time, said: "John Doyle was an icon of the game. He's a true legend." Seventeen years after his retirement from playing, Doyle received the ultimate honour during the GAA's centenary year in 1984 when he was chosen at left corner-back on the Hurling Team of the Century. He swapped to the right corner-back position on the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000, while he was also named on special Munster and Tipperary all-time teams. Personal life Born in Holycross, County Tipperary on 12 February 1930, Doyle was the first child born to Tim and Margaret Doyle. Six weeks later his mother died from purpureal fever, leaving the young Doyle to be raised by his forty-two-year-old father. After a year Doyle was sent to Dungarvan, County Waterford where he was raised by his aunt. On returning home to Holycross, Doyle was enrolled in the Sacred Heart College for Little Boys in Thurles, a boarding school for young boys who had lost their mothers. After a year spent here, he began his formal education at Gaile National School. As an eleven-year-old Doyle was sent to Thurles CBS where he finished his primary education and received a limited secondary education. At the age of fourteen, Doyle was forced to leave school and begin work on the family farm. Together they worked the land until December 1953 when Doyle's father died after a year-long battle with stomach cancer. On 1 October 1955 Doyle married Anne Reidy at the Church of the Seven Wells near Sixmilebridge, County Clare. The couple had seven children including Michael. John Doyle died on 29 December 2010. Honours Team