Paddy Cullen RIP

Everyone involved in Dublin GAA were deeply saddened by the passing of legendary goalkeeper Paddy Cullen earlier this month. The O’Connell Boys star was an integral part of Heffo’s Army and went on to manage the Dublin team in the early 1990s. 

Paddy was an immensely popular character and the tributes following his passing came from far and wide. They consistently spoke of a warm, generous, fun-loving man who loved life and loved living it.

A number of Paddy’s teammates from those heady days of the 1970s spoke fondly about their goalkeeper. The man they all looked up to, the man they all respected, the man they all loved.

“Paddy was a great leader and an inspirational figure”, recalled Alan Larkin. He also instilled a sense of belief in the team. “Paddy was on an All Stars trip in the early 1970s. When we were training in early 1974 a plane flew over Parnell Park and Paddy said that would be us later in the year, going on the All Stars trip. As it turns out, he wasn’t wrong.”

Midfielder Bernard Brogan recalled joining the team as a youngster but being made feel welcome by Paddy. 

“I’d say I was the youngest in the panel in 1973 and Paddy always made you feel welcome. Playing midfield I had a different relationship with him because in those days the ball was kicked out to the middle of the park and it was every man for himself. 

"You were always trying to work out where he would kick the ball because he had a very accurate kick and over the six years I played with him we developed a good understanding.

“Paddy was someone you could always look up to. He was pristine all the time, a gentleman and part of a group that led the charge. The penalty save in the 1974 final was what changed Gaelic football in a way. If they scored that we wouldn’t have won and God knows what would have happened.”

Another youngster, Tommy Drumm, recalled his first close encounters with Paddy Cullen as a member of the Dublin U21 team fifty years ago. 

“He would stay back practising and he just commanded that end of Parnell Park. He had this huge personality, a really warm, fun-loving personality. There was always a great buzz around him.

“In the dressing room he was always a very calm individual and a very positive person. He was a big man with a physical presence and that was intimidating for anyone looking to score against him.

“Himself and Jimmy Keaveney were like twins. They rubbed off one another, they wound each other up and they were great fun to be around. Teams need strong characters like that.”

Michael Hickey also recalled Paddy’s great sense of fun. “Paddy had an amazing sense of humour and often used it to diffuse things. Once we were in the States on an All Star trip and towards the end of it Heffo suggested that with the Championship coming up in three weeks that we stay off the drink. So Paddy says, ‘Kevin, I think we’ll be alright if we just stay off the shorts.’”

Michael also recalled a trip to Portugal when a number of the team were travelling back from lunch. 

“Frank Murray, who had a brilliant recall of poems and literature was in the front quoting Shakespeare, Donne, Yeats and all the great works. Then Paddy piped up from the back that he had a bit of poetry himself. So he sticks the head and chest into the front of the car, clears his throat and starts his recital … ‘Mary had a little lamb.’ We laughed all the way back. That was Paddy.”

Jim Brogan remembered a man who was part of the soul of the team. 

“Paddy was part of a group that were the soul of the team - the guys who had been playing for Dublin for a long time but with no real success. 

"That core group had a hugely significant role in providing the foundations for the achievements of the team from 1974 on. He was a warm, generous, soft-hearted guy with a genial personality and in the face of adversity he always had some sort of witty response.

“But when it came to football Paddy was serious and couldn’t have achieved what he did without that serious approach to his role as a goalkeeper. He was a key part of keeping our group together and we were so delighted when he attended our anniversary get-together last year.”

Pat O’Neill soldiered with Paddy as a player and also in various management teams and also often served as a medical adviser! He recalled a charity game in Croke Park against a team of journalists. “Somebody tackled Paddy and he ended up in the back of the net, breaking his collar bone so I had to take him to the Mater and deal with it.”

Pat however declined to comment when asked if there any malicious intent in the incident!

“We got on terribly well as players and understood each other. We mightn’t have always agreed in management together but there’d be something wrong if you were agreeing with everything! He was a great man.”

David Hickey summed up what Paddy meant to the group when he spoke fondly of his former team-mate. 

“Paddy Cullen was a great footballer but more importantly he was a kind, generous, warm and funny human being. I was so lucky to have him as a teammate and friend. Put a word in with HIM for us left behind here, Paddy!”

Paddy Cullen – Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann. Ar dheis Dé go raibn a anam. 

- Tom McLoughlin