Tuohy is one of only three Irishmen to have played more than 200 VFL/AFL games along with Dubliner and Melbourne legend Jim Stynes, and Belfast native Stuart Magee, who played for South Melbourne and Footscray
One of the great Irish sporting careers wound down over the weekend with Geelong’s AFL preliminary final defeat to Brisbane Lions spelling the end for Zach Tuohy.
After catching the eye as a Laois minor in 2007, he was snapped up by Carlton a couple of years later and made his debut in 2011 though his move to Geelong in October 2016 put him in contention to compete for the biggest prize in the game. Honours: Night Premiership, 1987, ‘89; Brownlow Medal, 1991; Leigh Matthews Trophy , 1991; All-Australian 1991, ‘93.
His career straddled both the VFL and AFL eras and his greatest sporting achievement was winning the highly prestigious Brownlow Medal in 1991, as the best player in the entire competition. The ruckman also won two All Australian awards, the equivalent of All Stars in Gaelic games, and is the only Irishman to be honoured.
Within a few years he was playing for South Melbourne and went on to captain Footscray . In 1967 he toured with an elite Australian team, The Galahs, who beat then All-Ireland champions Meath at Croke Park in what was a precursor to the International Rules series. They lost the Grand Final to West Coast the following year and after enduring a number of injury problems, Kennelly returned to Ireland to play for Kerry in 2009, winning an All-Ireland to emulate his father Tim and brother Noel.
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