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{{Short description|Irish hurler (1893–1968)}}
{{For|the Australian businessman, Army Reserve officer, and sports administrator|Jim Barry (general)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2022}}
'''Jim "Tough" Barry''' (26 July 1893 – 17 October 1968) was an [[Irish people|Irish]] [[hurling]] and [[Gaelic football|football]] [[Manager (Gaelic games)|trainer]]. In a career that lasted for forty years from 1926 until 1966 he trained the [[Cork county hurling team|Cork hurling team]] to thirteen [[All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|All-Ireland]] titles (trainer for 11 and assistant trainer for 2). He also trained the [[Limerick county hurling team|Limerick hurling team]] and the [[Cork county football team|Cork football team]] to All Ireland success.<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/jan/04/125-most-influential-people-in-gaa-history-75-51/ |title=125 Most Influential People In GAA History (51-75) |publisher=[[Sunday Tribune]] |access-date=2009-02-18 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Early life==
James Barry, son of John and Mary (née Lynch), was born in the [[Erinville Hospital|Lying-in Hospital]] in [[Cork (city)|Cork]] on 31 July 1893.<ref name="birthcert">'James Barry' (1893) Certified copy of birth register for James Barry, 31 July 1893. Doc. number 01858504. Superintendent Registrar's District Cork, Registrar District Cork No. 6.</ref> James’ parents already had three children when he was born; they would go on to have eight children in total, of whom six (four girls and two boys) would survive the high child mortality of the time. The Barry family lived on Grattan Street in 1893 but later moved to nearby Penrose Square. Following the profession of his father, James started working as a tailor when he left school.<ref>1901 Census of Ireland, Cork County, District Electoral Division (DED) Cork No. 7 Urban, West Ward, Penrose Square, unpaginated, household no. 9, James Barry; digital image, National Archives of Ireland, Census of Ireland 1901/1911 (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie : accessed 23 July 2020); original manuscript not cited.</ref><ref>1911 Census of Ireland, Cork County, District Electoral Division (DED) Cork No. 7, Penrose Square, unpaginated, household no. 2, James Barry; digital image, National Archives of Ireland, Census of Ireland 1901/1911 (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie : accessed 23 July 2020); original manuscript not cited.</ref> James had a love of music, especially [[opera]] and had an excellent tenor voice. He was also a keen sportsman; he was Irish Springboard champion for four years and earned his nickname 'Tough' as a result of his boxing career during which he fought as a [[Bantamweight]].<ref name="Mhicchonbhui">Cork: A History In the All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Volume One 1887-1949 by T.M. Mhicchonbhui ({{ISBN|9781326975593}})</ref>  James Barry became involved in the [[Irish War of Independence]] 1919 - 1921 and was arrested and imprisoned.  He was held at [[Spike Island, County Cork|Spike Island]], Cork Harbour, as well as [[Bere Island]] in Cork, before being released in December 1921.<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Neill|first=Tom|title=Spike Island's Republican prisoners 1921|publisher=History Press|year=2021|isbn=9780750996273|location=Ireland|pages=161|language=English}}</ref> 

==Gaelic games==
In 1926, Jim Barry was brought into the [[Cork senior hurling team|Cork hurling]] set-up as a physical trainer and assistant to [[Patrick 'Pakey' O'Mahony]]. It was his success in swimming and boxing that got him the role (Mahony was also a boxer) and not any background in hurling (he had hurled with [[Blackrock GAA|Blackrock]] as a young man but was not of inter-county standard; [[Jack Lynch]] later said "Not only did he not play but I also wouldn’t ascribe to Jim a very in-depth knowledge of all the aspects of hurling").<ref name="HANNIGAN">Looking after needs of players was key for Cork hurling legend Tough Barry - https://www.echolive.ie/corksport/arid-40206287.html</ref>

Barry helped guide Cork to [[1925–26 National Hurling League|League]] and [[1926 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|Championship]] success in his first year. Another victory followed in [[1928 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|1928]] so when Pakey Mahony left the set-up Barry continued on without him.<ref name="HANNIGAN"/> Barry had immediate success in [[1929 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|1929]], and another league was won in [[1929–30 National Hurling League|1930]].<ref name="history"/><ref name="Mhicchonbhui"/>

Barry's Cork team won the All-Ireland again in [[1931 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|1931]]. When Cork were knocked out of the championship in 1934, he was asked to train [[Limerick county hurling team|Limerick]], they won the [[National Hurling League|League]] and the [[1934 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship|All-Ireland]]. His Cork team lost to [[Kilkenny GAA|Kilkenny]] in the [[1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final|1939 All Ireland final]] and won the league in [[1939–40 National Hurling League|1940]].<ref name="Mhicchonbhui"/>

Barry became the first manager to win four All-Ireland titles in a row from 1941 to 1944 (the first year also saw another [[1940–41 National Hurling League|league win]]). He trained the [[Cork county football team]] to [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|All-Ireland]] victory in [[1945 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final|1945]] and also refereed that year's [[All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship|Minor Hurling final]]. His Cork side beat Kilkenny in the [[1946 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final|1946 All Ireland final]] but were beaten by the cats [[1947 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final|the following year]]. Cork won the League again in [[1947–48 National Hurling League|1948]].<ref name="Mhicchonbhui"/>

Barry's Cork returned for another run of multiple All-Ireland's, a three-in-a-row, from 1952-1954 (the middle year also saw another [[1952–53 National Hurling League|league won]]). There was then a barren period for 12 years before Cork returned with a shock victory over old rivals Kilkenny in the 1966 final. It was after this final that Barry said, "In Cork, hurlers come up overnight like mushrooms". Tough Barry suffered a stroke in October 1968 and died in the [[South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital|South Infirmary]] a few days later.<ref name="Mhicchonbhui"/>

===Management style===
Barry came into the Cork set-up as a physical trainer (after earlier success in swimming and boxing) but with time took on more and more responsibility. He is credited with bringing a forward-thinking and holistic approach to player preparation. He often visited workplaces to talk to employers on behalf of his players, demanded proper meals for his squads after matches, and was renowned for his ability to have them perfectly pitched for the biggest games. Jack Lynch later said, "He had a tremendous ability to bring out the best in the team he was training. He used to do everything. When the training session started, he would go down to the Park to make sure the grass was cut. If it wasn’t he would kick up holy murder! He’d make sure the jerseys were washed and the towels were washed. After matches, win or lose, he’d always make sure that the team were sitting down to a good meal and he wouldn’t let anybody interfere."<ref name="HANNIGAN"/>

In this era, GAA panels were prepared for matches by a trainer and the team was picked by a selection panel. With time however, his opinions on selection gained considerable weight.<ref name="HANNIGAN"/>

When asked about his own modest hurling career he would reply "You don’t have to be a greyhound to train greyhounds".<ref name="HANNIGAN"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Cork NHL Team 1926}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1926}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1928}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1929}}
{{Cork NHL Team 1930}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1931}}
{{Limerick NHL Team 1934}}
{{Limerick Hurling Team 1934}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1939}}
{{Cork NHL Team 1940}}
{{Cork NHL Team 1941}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1941}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1942}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1943}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1944}}
{{Cork Football Team 1945}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1946}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1947}}
{{Cork NHL Team 1948}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1952}}
{{Cork NHL Team 1953}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1953}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1954}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1956}}
{{Cork Hurling Team 1966}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Jim}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Gaelic football coaches]]
[[Category:Hurling coaches]]
[[Category:Hurling referees]]