Researching John Cleary

Born in Castlehaven, County Cork, Cleary first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 1983 championship. Cleary immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen and won two All-Ireland medals, three Munster medals and one National Football League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions.

Cleary was a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions but never won a Railway Cup medal. At club level he is a three-time Munster medallist with Castlehaven. In addition to this Cleary also on two championship medals.

Cleary's sister, Nollaig Cleary, and his brother-in-law, Niall Cahalane, are also All-Ireland medallists with Cork.

Throughout his career Cleary made 21 championship appearances. He retired from inter-county football following the conclusion of the 1993 championship.

In retirement from playing Cleary became involved in team management and coaching. He is an All-Ireland-winning manager and selector with the Cork under-21 team while he also enjoyed championship success as a selector with Castlehaven.

He was born at Pitt Town to farmer Thomas Cleary and Mary Ann, née Mackey, who were both Irish-born. He received a primary education but by the age of fourteen was working as a goldminer at Wyalong, then as a smelter with Duncanand Moyes, before returning to mining at Junee. After a two-year stint farming near Warra in Queensland, he settled in Forbes, where he was assistant town clerk (1908–15), an alderman (1912–15), and town clerk (1915–26). On 3 January 1906 he had married Alice Mary Brown, with whom he had nine children. In 1920 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a Labor member for Wollondilly, but he was defeated in 1922. From 1923 to 1926 he edited the Picton Post and worked as an estate agent until in 1926 he became proprietor of Bargo Hotel. In 1928 he became proprietor of the United States Hotel in Sussex Street, Sydney, and he was also town clerk at Molong from 1928 until his dismissal in 1932. Thereafter he worked for the Defence Department until 1945, when he retired. Cleary died at Canterbury in 1962.