Doyle, Richard (‘Dick’) (1886–1959), hurler, was born 4 February 1886 in Dournane, Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny, third among nine surviving children of William Doyle, farmer, originally from Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, and Ellen Doyle (née Dunphy) from Dournane. He was educated at Mooncoin national school, where his potential as a hurler was identified at an early age. He would go on to become a key figure in Kilkenny's first All-Ireland SHC victory in 1904 (played 1906) and win seven All-Ireland SHC medals in the period 1904–13, a distinction shared with fellow Mooncoin man Richard ‘Droog’ Walsh (qv), and his county teammates Jack Rochford (qv) and Sim Walton (qv). Seven medals remained a record until Cork's Christy Ring (qv) won his eighth medal in 1954. Doyle was one of three brothers who won a remarkable eighteen All-Ireland SHC winner's medals between them in the period 1904–13, a record unlikely ever to be repeated. Some sources credit them with nineteen medals, awarding Eddie Doyle (see below) a seventh medal as a non-playing substitute in 1913, although he is not listed among the seven substitutes in Tom Ryall’s book, Kilkenny: the GAA story (1984). The Doyles played together in four All-Ireland winning teams, a record for a trio of brothers.
Dick Doyle also won seven Leinster SHC medals, a Railway Shield (1903) and a Munster Feis medal (1912). He played his first county championship game for Mooncoin in 1905 and continued to play for the club up to 1923, although he appeared less regularly after 1913. He won four county championships on the field of play (1906, 1908, 1913, 1916) and a further two titles were awarded to Mooncoin (1917–18) when the political situation made the holding of the championship impossible. In 1903, when he was just 17, Doyle was a member of the Leinster team in the Railway Shield at Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, getting his chance to play when he went along as a spectator and some of the Leinster players did not appear. County champions Tullaroan picked him to play for Kilkenny in the 1904 SHC and he was a central figure in the pattern of play that brought Kilkenny their first All-Ireland victory. Playing in the full-forward line he scored 1–1 in the final against Cork as Kilkenny won by a point. Further All-Ireland victories followed (1905, 1907, 1909), and a three-in-a-row (1911–13) established Kilkenny as a team that had brought a new level of skill and organisation to hurling. But for internal disputes and club rivalries within the county, it is possible that Kilkenny could have won even more titles during the period. Doyle and his brothers, key members of the Kilkenny side, missed the 1910 championship when they withdrew their services from the county team in support of an attempt to keep a local sportsfield exclusively for Gaelic games.
Usually lining out in the right corner-forward position, except when employed for periods on the left to ‘soften up’ a defender, Doyle was a fearless attacker and a maker rather than a taker of scores, rarely failing to win a ball and being difficult to knock off his feet. An exponent of ground hurling, he generally played the game ‘shoulder to shoulder’. His crossfield passes to the lightning-fast full-forward Jimmy Kelly was the source of many Kilkenny and Mooncoin scores. A fitness fanatic, Doyle used to train in hobnail boots so as to make the playing boots seem lighter. He had an impressive physique, honed not only by his farming activities but also by the work involved in maintaining the Dournane–Mooncoin road, a job the Doyle family had secured when he was a young boy. He was last seen in county championship action for Mooncoin in 1923, and had captained the side in 1915 and 1920, but, along with his brothers, he only appeared sporadically after 1913. This was due partly to the death of his father, but also because of local begrudgery relating to the fact that in 1913 each player on the Kilkenny team had been awarded a payment of £18 by the county council in recognition of the three-in-a-row, and this meant that £54 – no mean sum in those days – was going into one household. Dick Doyle later purchased a farm near Carrick-on-Suir, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. Unmarried, he died at a sister's house in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, on 16 March 1959 and is buried in Mooncoin cemetery.
His elder brother Edmond (‘Eddie’; ‘Neddy’) Doyle (1884–1971) was born 10 April 1884 in Dournane and won six All-Ireland medals (1904–5, 1907, 1909, 1911–12) with Kilkenny, all with his brother Dick, but missing the 1913 victory. He made his debut for Kilkenny in 1903 and played in that year's losing All-Ireland final against Cork. At 11 st. 7 lb. (73.03 kg) he was trim but hardy, and although not as skilful as his brothers he was an effective half-back and an excellent dead ball striker, particularly from sideline cuts and the 70 yd (64 m) line. He was particularly adept at catching the dropping ball, and very few forwards managed to get inside him on the field of play. He continued to play for Mooncoin until 1923 and shared in all their county championship victories during that time. He remained on the family farm in Dournane during his life, and before his death on 10 January 1971 he was the last surviving member of the 1904 team. He married (1932) Mary Joe Flynn from Kilmacow, Co. Kilkenny; they had no children. He is buried in Mooncoin.
A younger brother, Michael (‘Mick’) Doyle (1887–1970), was born 13 September 1887 in Dournane and made his debut for Mooncoin in 1904 at the age of 17, continuing to play for the club until 1919. His first inter-county match was actually with Waterford against Limerick in the Munster SHC while he was serving an apprenticeship with a draper in Waterford. He won five All-Ireland medals (1907, 1909, 1911–13) and continued playing with Kilkenny until the 1916 All-Ireland final. He usually played in the left corner-forward position, where he combined to deadly effect with his brother Dick on the right. A classy and stylish player, he was of a slighter build than Dick, and was regarded as a great ‘overhead’ hurler, being able to double on the sliothar in the air with great accuracy. He was also a master of the flicked pass when his own route towards goal was blocked. One unconfirmed story suggests that he once scored six goals in the second half of a Croke Cup final match against Cork as Kilkenny lost by 8–1 to 6–1. A draper by trade, he had a shop at the Quay, Waterford, until his retirement in the late 1960s. He married (1920) Hannah (‘Hannie’) Murphy from Mooncoin; they had no children. Mick Doyle died 18 April 1970 at his home near Carrick-on-Suir.