{{Short description|Dual player of Gaelic games and Derry Gaelic footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox Gaelic games player | image = | name = Johnny McGurk | irish = | nickname = | feet = 5 | inches = 7 | occupation = Bid Manager | sport = Gaelic football | code = Football | county = Derry | province = Ulster | clposition = Half back | club = [[Lavey GAC|Lavey]] | clyears = ?–? | clapps(points) = ? | clcounty = 4 | clprovince = 2 | clallireland = 1 | clubs = [[Lavey GAC|Lavey]] | counties = [[Derry county football team|Derry]] | icposition = Half back | icyears = ?–? | icapps(points) = ? | icprovince = 2 | icallireland = 1 | nfl = 3? | allstars = 1 | icupdate = | clupdate = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|11|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[County Londonderry]], [[Northern Ireland]] }} '''John McGurk''' (born 3 November 1965) is a former [[dual player]] of [[Gaelic games]] who played [[Gaelic football]] at senior level for the [[Derry county football team|Derry county team]] in the 1980s and 1990s. He was part of Derry's [[1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] winning side and also won two [[Ulster Senior Football Championship|Ulster Championships]] with the side. For his performances in the 1993 Championship he won an [[GAA All Stars Awards|All Stars Award]].
McGurk also won the [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]] in 1991 with his club [[Lavey GAC|Lavey]], where he was [[captain (Gaelic games)|captain]].<ref>{{ Cite journal | publisher = R & S Printers Ltd, Monaghan| date = 31 May 1998 | journal = 1998 Ulster Championship Quarter Final Programme | title= Facts and Figures }}</ref> He was one of very few players in Ireland to complete this unique double and almost did the extreme rarity of winning both competitions in the same year in 1993, but Lavey were defeated in the All-Ireland club after winning their second [[Ulster Senior Club Football Championship]].
McGurk played most of football career in defence, but did play in attack for Lavey sometimes.<ref name="oakboys"/>
==Personal life== McGurk was born in [[Lavey, County Londonderry]], and attended school at [[St Patrick's College, Maghera]]. All seven of his brothers were keen sportsmen. [[Anthony McGurk]] won All Star awards in 1973 and 1975, Collie was also in the 1993 panel and Hugh Martin captained Derry in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ulster football and hurling - The Path of Champions |last=Quinn |first=Jerome |year=1993 |publisher=Wolfhound Press |location=Dublin |isbn=0-86327-395-5 |pages=25 }}.</ref>
He has three sons, James, Patrick and Marc and a daughter, Fíadh, with his girlfriend Helen, who won an All-Ireland intermediate club camogie championship with Lavey.<ref name="Saturday">{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/gaa/john-mcgurk-i-lost-my-marriage-i-left-the-house-and-i-finished-up-in-prison-869188.html|title=John McGurk: 'I lost my marriage, I left the house and I finished up in prison'|date=2018-09-15|website=www.irishexaminer.com|access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref>
In April 2016, McGurk pleaded guilty to the theft of £572,206 from a construction company between 2006 and 2011.<ref name="rte779686">{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0405/779686-johnny-mcgurk-derry/|title=Former Derry GAA star guilty of stealing £572,206|date=5 April 2016|work=[[RTÉ.ie]]|accessdate=5 April 2016}}</ref> He was sentenced to ten months imprisonment in May 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/05/13/news/former-gaa-star-johnny-mcgurk-begins-10-month-jail-term-518378/|title=Ex-GAA star Johnny McGurk begins 10-month jail sentence|website=The Irish News|date=12 May 2016 |language=en|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> of which he served 5 and a half.<ref name="Saturday"/>
==Inter-county career== McGurk won an [[Ulster Minor Football Championship|Ulster Minor Championship]] and [[All-Ireland Minor Football Championship|All-Ireland Minor Championship]] with Derry in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.derrygaa.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=122|title= Derry Football Roll of Honour|accessdate=2008-01-17 }}</ref>
He made his Derry [[List of Gaelic Games terminology#S|senior]] debut in 1988 as a 19-year-old against [[Antrim GAA|Antrim]] in the [[National Football League (Ireland)|National Football League]].<ref name="oakboys">{{cite book | first=Eoghan | last=Corry | title=Oakboys - Derry's Football Dream Come True | publisher=Torc Books Ltd. | location=Dublin, Ireland | year=1993 | pages = 20–21 | isbn=1-898142-10-6}}</ref> He was part of Derry's 1993 [[Ulster Senior Football Championship|Ulster Championship]] and All-Ireland winning team, which beat [[Cork GAA|Cork]] in the final. McGurk added a second Ulster Championship medal in 1998.
He won [[National Football League (Ireland)|National Football League]] medals with Derry in 1992, 1995 and 1996.
=== Hurling === Among McGurk's hurling honours was winning the [[Ulster Under 21 Hurling Championship]] with Derry in 1986, defeating Antrim and Down along the way. He scored 1-01 against Antrim in the semi-final at Loughguile in a 2-20 to 1-06 victory. They beat Down in the final after a reply; 3-09 to 1-02. McGurk's brother Collie was also part of the panel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Will Derry be singing the Blues at Newry? |work=The Mid-Ulster Observer |date=2007-08-16 }}</ref>
==Club career== He made his club debut when 15 years old and won a large array of medals with Lavey. He won four [[Derry Senior Football Championship]]s and two [[Ulster Senior Club Football Championship]]. The highlight of his club career was captaining Lavey to victory in the 1991 [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]]. He said "My greatest memory is of lifting the Cup and seeing the whole parish of Lavey down below me in Croke Park".<ref>{{cite news|title=GAA: Caltra's fairytale journey reaches final destination |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/westernpeople/2004/03/17/story18666.asp |work=Western People |date=2004-03-17 |accessdate=2008-04-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512205721/http://archives.tcm.ie/westernpeople/2004/03/17/story18666.asp |archive-date=2006-05-12 }}</ref> He also won the [[Derry Senior Hurling Championship]] on a number of occasions.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Lavey Football Team 1991}} {{Navboxes |title=Derry panels |bg=white |fg=#E00000 |bordercolor=#E00000 |list1= {{Derry Minor Football Team 1983}} {{Derry NFL Team 1992}} {{Derry Football Team 1993}} {{Derry NFL Team 1995}} {{Derry NFL Team 1996}} }} {{1993 All Stars}} {{All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final Man of the Match}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGurk, Johnny}} [[Category:1965 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Derry inter-county hurlers]] [[Category:Dual players]] [[Category:Lavey Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Lavey hurlers]] [[Category:Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)]] [[Category:20th-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland]]