Paddy Prendergast

Paddy Prendergast (born 1958) is former Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Clara and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s.^[1]

Playing career

Club

Prendergast played his club hurling with his local Clara club and enjoyed some success. Undoubtedly, his greatest achievement was winning a senior county title in 1986. This was achieved following a defeat of the mighty Ballyhale Shamrocks in the county final.

Inter-county

Prendergast first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He won a Leinster title in this grade in 1975 before later winning an All-Ireland medal following a victory over Cork. Prendergast won a second Leinster minor medal in 1976, however, Kilkenny were later defeated by Tipperary in the championship decider. Prendergast later joined the county under-21 team and won both Leinster and All-Ireland honours in 1977.

Prendergast made his senior debut for Kilkenny in 1978 and he quickly won his first senior Leinster title. He lined out in his first All-Ireland final appearance, however, victory went to Cork on that occasion as the Leesiders captured a third championship title in-a-row. Prendergast won a second provincial title in 1979 and, once again, Kilkenny reached the championship decider. Galway provided the opposition on that occasion, however, the men from the West were easily overcome by ‘the Cats’ and Prendergast collected his first senior All-Ireland medal. The following few years proved difficult for Kilkenny, however, the team bounced back in 1982 with Prendergast winning a National Hurling League medal. He later won a third Leinster title before making a third All-Ireland final appearance. Cork were the opponents that day, however, the Leesiders provided little opposition and Prendergast added a second All-Ireland medal to his collection. His performance throughout the championship later earned Prendergast a coveted All-Star award.

In 1983 Prendergast won a second National League medal before later collecting a fourth provincial title. Cork were Kilkenny’s opponents again in the championship decider and, once again, the Leesiders fell to ‘the Cats’ giving Prendergast a third All-Ireland medal. Kilkenny lost their provincial crown for the next few years, however, the team returned in 1986 with Prendergast winning a third National League medal. He later picked up a fifth Leinster medal, however, his side were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. In 1987 Prendergast was appointed captain of the team and he guided his men to another provincial victory, his sixth medal in all. Kilkenny later reached the All-Ireland final, however, his side were defeated by Galway once again. Prendergast retired from inter-county hurling shortly after this defeat.

Teams

References