O'Grady first played hurling with his local club Buttevant and the Collins club in Cork, however, it was as a member of the Blackrock club that he enjoyed his greatest successes.[1] He claimed his first silverware in 1929 when the club defeated St. Finbarr's by 5-06 to 2-02 to win the Cork County Championship.[2] O'Grady added a second winners' medal to his collection the following year, after Blackrock's 3-08 to 1-03 victory over Glen Rovers in the final.[3] Blackrock qualified for a third successive final in 1931, with O'Grady winning a third and final championship title after the 2-04 to 0-03 win over Éire Óg.[citation needed]
During the 1928-29 National League, O'Grady was switched from wing-back to centre-forward, a position he retained for the 1929 Munster Championship. He claimed a second successive provincial winners' medal after the 4-06 to 2-03 win over Waterford before later winning a second successive All-Ireland winners' medal after the 4-09 to 1-03 win over Galway in a second successive final. O'Grady won a National League medal when Cork claimed the 1929-30 title following a win over Dublin.[citation needed]
O'Grady won a third Munster Championship in four seasons after Cork's 5-04 to 1-02 win over Waterford in the 1931 Munster final replay. The subsequent All-Ireland final against Kilkenny went to two replays, however, O'Grady claimed a third winners' medal after the 5-08 to 3-04 victory in the third game.[5] It was his last championship game for Cork.[citation needed]
Personal life and death
O'Grady was born in Buttevant, County Cork, the youngest of six surviving children of local plasterer Philip and Mary (née Ahern). After completing his education, he joined the Irish Army and was based in Collins Barracks in Cork. He later worked as a welder with Henry Ford & Son Ltd. O'Grady married Margaret Rea from Sunday's Well in the North Cathedral in August 1932. They lived in a house in the Glen and had three children.
On 2 August 1980, O'Grady died aged 77 at the Victoria Hospital in Cork.
