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Cathy McGuirk Passes Away at 76

Cathy McGuirk, the legendary longtime head coach of the Branford High School field hockey team, passed away at age 76 on May 31. McGuirk, who won 558 games and 10 state championships during her 41-year career with the Hornets, passed away following a battle with ALS, which she had been diagnosed with last year.

McGuirk posted a career record of 558-129-66-12 as the head coach of the Branford field hockey team, coaching alongside her husband John for 38 years. McGuirk guided the Hornets to 40-straight winning seasons and 40-consecutive State Tournament berths, advancing to the state semifinals 29 times and making the state final in 14 of those campaigns.

Branford claimed Class M state championships in 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 (co-champs), 1990, 1991, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005 with McGuirk as the team’s head coach. Branford also reached the Class M state final in 1984 and 2011 and made the Class L final in 1987 and 1995.

McGuirk’s 558 career victories and 10 state titles are the most for any coach in the history of high school field hockey in the state. The Hornets also won 17 league titles during McGuirk’s tenure, including 10 in the SCC, most recently winning the SCC Tournament in 2016.

McGuirk was named the National Field Hockey Coach of the Year in 1994, was selected as the Connecticut Field Hockey Association Coach of the Year four times, and was also named the SCC Coach of the Year in 2016. McGuirk is a member of the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame, the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Branford Education Hall of Fame, the Branford Sports Hall of Fame, the Southern Connecticut State University Hall of Fame, the New Agenda Northeast Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

In 2014, McGuirk was presented with the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance. In 2019, the Hornets’ home field at Branford High School was named the Cathy & John McGuirk Field Hockey Field in honor of the McGuirks. Last October, Branford field hockey alums and current athletes on the team organized the MilesforMcGuirk fundraiser—a 5K event that raised approximately $17,000 for ALS research.

McGuirk grew up in Westport and went to Central Catholic High School in Norwalk, earning an award as the school’s Best Female Athlete. McGuirk went on to attend Southern Connecticut State College and enjoyed an excellent career as a field hockey goalie, allowing no goals in four seasons before graduating in 1967.

McGuirk, who was a Branford resident for 49 years, taught physical education at the middle school level in town for many years before retiring in 1999. McGuirk became the head coach of the Branford field hockey team in 1977 and continued in that role through the 2017 season, retiring with her husband John in January of 2018. In McGuirk’s last season as Branford’s head coach, the team finished with a record of 17-3-0-2, won the SCC regular-season title, made the SCC Tournament final, and also advanced to the semifinals of the Class M State Tournament.