John "Jack" Finlay (10 June 1889 – 30 September 1942) was an Irish athlete who played hurling for Laois in the 1910s and in later life was a politician. Finlay was born in Ballycuddy, County Laois in 1889. He had a love of hurling from a young age and soon joined his local club Ballygeehan. In 1913 Finlay won a Laois Junior Hurling Championship with the club. They moved to senior level the following year and proceeded to win five county championships in-a-row with Finlay as captain. After winning the county title in 1914 the club had a major say in the selection of the inter-county team for the following year. Finlay was chosen as captain and was joined by his brother Tom.