Joe Hanley rowed in the men's eight at the 1948 London Olympic Games as part of the composite Irish crew at Henley-on-Thames - the only Irish team at those Games to be officially designated 'Ireland' in the programme. A member of UCDBC, Hanley was part of the core UCD crew that had won the Senior VIII title at the Belfast Regatta (the Olympic trial) in 1948. The composite crew was beaten by Canada and Portugal in the opening heat and by Norway in the repechage.
Joseph (also known as Seosamh) Hanly was from Rathgar, Dublin, the son of Francis Joseph and Margaret (née Healy) Hanly. His father worked with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Education, later becoming chief inspector at the latter. He grew up in an Irish speaking household and attended Coláiste Mhuire before he enrolled at Veterinary College of Ireland. Active in the sport of rowing, he joined the University College Dublin Boat Club (UCDBC) in 1944 and was a member of the rowing team that was selected to represent Ireland in the eights at the 1948 Olympics in London in addition to winning titles at the 1947 (as vice captain of the UCDBC) and 1948 Irish Senior Eights Championships.
Hanly qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1951 and earned his Master's degree from University College Dublin in 1953. He briefly worked for the Department of Agriculture, then was appointed as the head of Sutton Bonnington Artificial Insemination Station in England at the University of Nottingham. Hanly joined the faculty of his alma mater in 1956 when he was appointed as a lecturer in obstetrics and fertility. In 1978, he was named dean of the Veterinary Faculty at the University College Dublin School of Veterinary Medicine, serving for two terms until 1984. He was also president of the Irish Federation of University Teachers from 1976 to 1978.
Hanly later served as a president of the Old Collegians Boat Club (OCBC), and the Joe Hanly Medal is awarded to members of the OCBC who have made an "outstanding contribution to or achievement for UCD Boat Club". An eight was named the "Joe Hanly" in a posthumous honour by the UCDBC in 1997.
Rowing
