P.J. Cuddy

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PJ Cuddy was a famous hurling player with Laois and Camross.

Laois hurling enjoyed a high profile during the 1980s but, alas, silverware proved elusive. One of the midlanders’ top players during that era was goalpoacher supreme PJ Cuddy.

The face of hurling changed forever in the 1980s with the emergence of Galway and Offaly as major powers. Laois also came to prominence at around the same time but the breakthrough they so desperately sought never materialised and they haven’t been the same force since then.

The O’Moore County produced a number of great hurlers during that era, among them Joe Dollard, Pat Critchley, John Taylor, Martin Cuddy and Billy and John Bohane. Perhaps the best known of all, however, was PJ Cuddy, a forward with a penchant for notching vital goals.

Cuddy wore the blue and white jersey with distinction for more than 15 years, during which time he proved himself to be one of the finest full forwards in the business. The Leinster Senior Hurling Championship was a good deal more competitive back in those days and it is widely agreed that had that Laois team played at any other time, they would almost certainly have tasted provincial glory.

The youngest of a family of 11, Cuddy acquired a passion for hurling at an early age. He was just 18 when he won his first Laois Senior Hurling Championship medal with Camross in 1976. Later that season, Camross captured the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship title with a thrilling victory over James Stephens (Kilkenny). They subsequently beat Ballycran (Down) in the All-Ireland semi-final but were denied the ultimate prize by Cork kingpins Glen Rovers.

Cuddy went on to captain the Laois under 21 team in 1979. The blue and whites reached the Leinster final that year but their captain missed the defeat to Offaly after being sent off in an earlier game. It was the only time in his career that he missed a game through suspension.

The following year, Cuddy was promoted to the senior team (his brothers Ger and Sean had also played senior for Laois and he made his debut as a substitute in a National Hurling League defeat to Clare at Portlaoise. He was selected from the start for Laois’ next outing against Antrim and never looked back thereafter.

Despite the defeat to Clare, the O’Moore County succeeded in gaining promotion to Division 1 in ’81 and were drawn to face Tipperary in the quarter-final. Tipp were favourites to triumph but two goals from young Cuddy turned the game in Laois’ favour. They subsequently lost to neighbours and bogey side Offaly at the penultimate round stage.

Laois were relegated back to Division 2 in 1982 but their form improved for the championship and they were within seconds of eliminating the then All-Ireland champions Offaly when Paddy Kirwan pointed a mamooth equalizing free from 110 yards. The Faithfuls won the replay and Laois were left to rue a missed opportunity.

Laois returned to Division 1 in 1983 but their championship hopes were again ended by Offaly. The following year, the one-off Centenary Cup proved highly successful for the midlanders as they beat Limerick, Tipperary and Galway to qualify for a final showdown with Cork.

The final, which was played in Croke Park, was a huge occasion for Laois but they failed to live up to expectations and were well beaten by a Cork team that would add the All-Ireland crown later that year.

In 1985, Laois defeated Wexford to reach the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final where the challenge of Offaly awaited. Again, the O’Moore County side disappointed on the big day, succumbing to a demoralising 0-17 to 5-15 defeat.

That loss proved to be a major setback for Laois hurling. For five years, they had been knocking on door of success but it refused to open.

Despite bagging another hat-trick of goals against Offaly in the 1986 Leinster championship, Cuddy again ended up on the losing side. Laois’ fortunes took a nosedive in the years that followed and only on the odd occasion have they threatened to rediscover the form of the early to mid-1980s.

One such occasion was in 1995 when they came tantalizingly close to beating Kilkenny in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship at Dr Cullen Park. Trailing by two points with time almost up, Cuddy’s Camross team-mate Fint Lawlor found himself in a one-on-one situation with Kilkenny substitute goalkeeper Joe Carmody. Carmody came out the winner, however, pulling off a wonderful save to break Laois hearts.

A Railway Cup winner with Leinster in 1988, Cuddy brought his inter-county career to a close in 1996 with no silverware to show for his years of sterling service. But it was a different story at club level for the talented forward who garnered an incredible 12 county senior championship medals. The Cuddy name is synonymous with Camross hurling - at one stage, there were seven Cuddys on the club’s senior team.

Twenty years on from his first Leinster club championship success, Cuddy won his second Leinster medal in 1996 when Camross defeated O’Toole’s of Dublin in the provincial decider. Camross’ bid for the All-Ireland title was eventually ended by Athenry of Galway.