 His brother Connie was an All-Ireland-winning captain and another brother, Jack, was an All-Ireland medalist as a non-playing substitute in 1942.Buckley played his club hurling with the Glen Rovers and in 1938 he joined the club's senior team as the club set out to make history by besting Blackrock's twenty-five-year-old championship record of successive titles.Midleton stood in the way of a fifth successive championship title, however, a 5–6 to 1–3 score line secured the victory and gave Buckley his first championship.