James OâÂÂBrien (born 1938) is an Irish former hurler. At club level, he played with Geraldine OâÂÂHanrahans and at inter-county level with the Wexford senior hurling team.
O'Brien first played hurling and Gaelic football at club level with Geraldine OâÂÂHanrahans. He had his first success in 1957 when the club beat Shemaliers by 6-07 to 5-06 to win the Wexford IHC title. He added a Wexford JFC medal to his collection in 1963 after a defeat of Kilanerin in the final. O'Brien won a Wexford SHC medal in 1966, following Geraldine O'Hanrahans 2-10 to 3-o4 win over Enniscorthy Shamrocks in a final replay.
At inter-county level, O'Brien first played for Wexford as a member of the minor team. He progressed to the junior team and won a Leinster JHC title in 1957. O'Brien made his senior team debut during Wexford's National Hurling League-winning campaign in January 1957, however, it took a few years for him to become a regular member of the team.
O'Brien won his first Leinster SHC medal in 1960 and was at wing-forward for the 2-15 to 0-11 defeat of Tipperary in the 1960 All-Ireland final. He collected further Leinster SHC honours in 1962 and 1965, however, Wexford had subsequent All-Ireland final defeats by Tipperary on both occasions. O'Brien captained Wexford to the National Hurling League title in 1967. He collected a fourth and final Leinster SHC medal in 1968 before later claiming a second All-Ireland SHC medal after lining out in the 5-08 to 3-12 victory over Tipperary in the 1968 All-Ireland final.
Performances at inter-county level for Wexford resulted in O'Brien being called up to the Leinster inter-provincial team. He won his sole Railway Cup medal in 1965 following a defeat of Munster in the final.