Larry Tompkins

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**Larry Tompkins**
Personal information
Sport	Gaelic football
Date of Birth	13 June 1963
Place of birth	Kildare, Ireland
Club information
Club	Castlehaven
Position	Midfield
Club(s)*
Club	Years	Apps (scores)
Castlehaven Eadestown	? -?
Inter County
County	Cork
Position	-
Inter County(ies)**
County	Years	Apps (scores)
Cork Kildare	1988 - 1994 ?? 1980 - ??
* club appearances and scores correct as of . **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of .

Larry Tompkins (born 13 June 1963) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with Cork in the 1980s and 1990s. He served as manager of the team when he retired as a player.

Larry Tompkins was born in County Kildare in 1964. He showed enormous skill as a Gaelic footballer in his youth and first joined the Kildare senior football team in 1980 at the age of 16. Tompkins was a key member of the county's under-21 team which won a Leinster title three years later. By this stage he was recognised as Kildare's top player, a fact well emphasised when he was their only representative on the Leinster team which won the Railway Cup in 1985. While Tompkins's inter-county career was in the ascent a disagreement between him and the county board over the price of a flight to New York caused him to sever all links with Kildare. While in New York Tompkins continued to play Gaelic football. There he met the Collins brothers from Castlehaven in County Cork who persuaded him to join their club. He joined the club in 1987 and was quickly approached by the Cork selectors who wanted him to join the inter-county football set-up as well.

With fellow Kildare native Shea Fahy, Tompkins won a Munster Championship medal in his first year as a Cork player, however, the side lost out to Meath in the All-Ireland final. He won a second Munster title in 1988 but lost out to Meath once again in the All-Ireland decider. By this stage Tompkins was regarded as one of the best footballers in the game, winning a third consecutive Munster title in 1989 before defeating Mayo to claim his first All-Ireland medal. He finished off the year by claiming a third All-Star Award, the first Cork player to do so. His proudest moment came in 1990. Tomkins collected a fourth Munster medal before captaining Cork to a second consecutive All-Ireland victory over arch-rivals Meath. He won two further Munster titles in 1993 and 1994, however, his final years as a player were dogged by injury. He also won three Munster Senior Club titles with his adopted club of Castlehaven before retiring from inter-county football in the mid 1990s. Tompkins was appointed successor to Billy Morgan as manager of the Cork senior footballers in 1997. He guided them to a Munster tirle in 1999, however, his side was defeated in the All-Ireland final by the old rivals of Meath. Under Tompkins Cork won a second Munster title in 2002.