Paddy Phelan

Paddy Phelan (born 1910, date of death unknown)^[1] was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Tullaroan and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1930s. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time.

Playing career

Club

Phelan played his club hurling with the famous Tullaroan club, although he was actually from neighbouring Freshford. He enjoyed much success and won senior county titles in 1930, 1933, and 1934.

Inter-county

Phelan first came to prominence as a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling team in 1931. That year he won his first Leinster title and later played in three-game epic of All-Ireland finals against Cork. Both teams finished all square in the first two games, however, Cork won by ten points following the second replay. Phelan won his second Leinster medal in 1932 and Kilkenny once again qualified for the All-Ireland final. ‘The cats’ defeated Clare by a goal on that occasion and Phelan captured his first All-Ireland medal. Phelan won a National Hurling League medal at the start of 1933 before winning a third consecutive provincial title. Once again, Kilkenny qualified for a third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. On the day Limerick were defeated by Kilkenny and Phelan added a second All-Ireland medal to his collection. Kilkenny lost their provincial crown in 1934, however, the team returned in 1935 and Phelan won a fourth Leinster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a repeat of the 1933 final and Kilkenny ended as the victors by a single point with Phelan collecting his third All-Ireland title.

1936 saw Phelan winning a fifth provincial medal and Kilkenny qualified for yet another All-Ireland final appearance. For the third time in four years Kilkenny faced Limerick in the championship decider, however, unlike the other two appearances Limerick were the winners. In 1937 Kilkenny continued their provincial dominance and Phelan picked up a sixth Leinster title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final ‘the Cats’ faced Tipperary, however, victory went to the Munster men on an impressive score line of 3-11 to 0-3. Kilkenny lost their provincial title in 1938, however, the team returned in 1939 with Phelan winning a seventh Leinster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final against Cork has gone down in history as the famous ‘thunder and lightning’ final as a huge downpour interrupted play. In the end victory went to Kilkenny by a single point, and Phelan won his fourth All-Ireland medal. In 1940 he won an eighth Leinster medal, however, Kilkenny were subsequently defeated by Limerick in the All-Ireland final. This turned out to be Phelan’s last final appearance. Kilkenny were suspended from the championship for the following few years due to a foot-and-mouth outbreak in the county. Phelan then retired from inter-county hurling.

Post-playing career

In retirement from hurling Phelan came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time. His skill at the game was recognised in 1984 when he was named on the GAA Hurling Team of the Century. His status as one of the all-time greats was further copperfastened in 1999 when he was named on the GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium and the Kilkenny Hurling Team of the Century. His grand-nephew, D.J. Carey, played hurling with Kilkenny in the 1990s and 2000s and is regarded as one of the modern greats of the game.

Teams

See also

• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References