Former Louth and Armagh inter-county star Padraig O'Neill to be remembered with charity walk
The walk in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation is being organised by Cillian O'Neill and will take place on Saturday, July 19. The route will take walkers across the Cooley mountains from The Lumpers Bar in Ravensdale and down into Carlingford, where Padraig, who was affectionately known as 'Bucket', had lived with his family at Grove Road.
The Newry-native moved to Carlingford with his family at a young age, and during the course of his career lined out for both Louth and Armagh. He first played Gaelic football to a high standard as a student at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School in Newry and as a student of Ulster University, won three Sigerson Cup titles.
His club career began at juvenile level with Cumann Peile Cuchulainn before moving to the Cooley Kickhams underage sides. Louth MFC and Louth U21FC titles followed and he made his senior team debut in 1982. He won several Cardinal O'Donnell Cup and ACC Cup titles in a lengthy career that ended in 2005.
He captained Armagh minors when they were defeated by Derry in the 1984 Ulster MFC final. He went on to play for the under-21 team and was also part of the senior team beaten by Donegal in the 1990 Ulster SFC final. He later declared for the Louth senior football team.
On his retirement from playing, he was involved in team management and coaching. He was manager of the Naomh Malachi team when they won the Louth IFC title in 2009, and was also associated with the Cuchulainn Gaels and Cooley Kickhams.
The 58-year-old suffered a fatal heart attack on is way home from the 2024 All-Ireland SFC semi-final and died at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, on July 20 last.
Now his family and those organising the walk are hoping that his friends from college, work and the world of GAA will join in the walk, celebrate his memory and raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation.
Anyone interested in taking part is asked to contact Daryl Bailey on 087 905 4282 and let him know they can join the hike. A donation of €25 per person is being requested.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
All Ireland quarter-final draw to be held live on RTÉ Radio 1
The GAA have confirmed that the draw for the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland SFC will take place live on Monday morning on RTÉ Radio 1. The draw will be held on the 8:30am sport bulletin on Morning Ireland, will a live feed also available on the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player. The four winners from this weekend's preliminary quarter-finals will be drawn against the winners of the four round-robin groups. As before in the competition, redraws will be held to prevent the avoidance of repeat provincial final pairings and, where possible, repeat pairings from round 1. Teams will be split into two pots with Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Meath playing against the winners of the preliminaries; Dublin or Cork, Down or Galway, Donegal or Louth and Kerry or Cavan. The fixtures that will not be allowed to be repeated are Armagh v Dublin/Galway/Donegal, Monaghan v Down/Louth, Tyrone v Donegal/Cavan and Meath v Louth/Kerry/Cork. The draws will be presided over by Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns and Feargal McGill, GAA Director of Player, Club and Games Administration and the quarter-final will take place in Croke Park on the weekend of 28 and 29 June.
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
The coolest head in inter-county management - Shane Walsh hails Padraic Joyce
Shane Walsh has credited Padraic Joyce for staying cool under pressure when Galway stared down the barrel of a Championship exit last Saturday. The Connacht champs were on the brink of an early exit until Joyce lifted the team with a calm, studious team talk at half time. The upshot was they came from behind to defeat Armagh and secure a preliminary quarter final away to Down this Sunday. Read more: Tipperary star says he retired knowing good times were coming again Read more: Joe Brolly weighs in on Mayo's latest All-Ireland heartbreak: 'The culture is all wrong' Star player Walsh said: 'We went in at half-time knowing that they'd probably been a bit hot and that we weren't executing our chances. 'Padraic obviously wanted us to up the level a bit and just bring a bit more intensity in the second half. It never felt like we were gone. 'We then knew after the positive start we made (in the second half) we were in a good position and it was just about trying to see it out then. We worked a really good opportunity at the end and Paul (Conroy) showed all his experience as well to win the free.' And that was a free Walsh converted to seal the deal. The former All Star outlined what went through his head as he stood over the ball to secure Galway's win over last year's All-Ireland champs. He said: 'Probably three different things. Firstly, when you're walking over, you're just saying 'calm, this is my job now.' 'Then there's a few words coming your way from opposition and then the heart rate starts to go up a bit. 'Then you're coming back in saying, you've dreamt of this as a young lad. This is what you grew up dreaming about, saying you want to be in these situations and just commit to the kick, be yourself. That's all I could do, I suppose, and thankfully it went over.' All of which brings another Ulster team - Down - onto their radar, the third Ulster side they have played in a row. Walsh said: 'Down are probably the most in-form team. Even with the Donegal game, they were probably unlucky with a lot of goal chances they had that day. And you see the way they've been building since the league, they're a completely different proposition. 'We all know about going up to Newry, you never get that easy up there either. Conor Laverty always has his team as well drilled. 'So it's a great challenge. Again, no more than the group that we had with Dublin and Derry and Armagh, having Down again, it's another unbelievable challenge if you get through it to build your confidence, build the belief in the team and build a bit of momentum.'
The 42
9 hours ago
- The 42
'We back you no matter what' - Shane Walsh on backing of Galway team mates
IN THIS SUMMER of Houdini acts, Galway have provided one of the stronger storylines with conflicts and arcs everywhere. At half time against Armagh in the final group game, everyone thought they were gone. Eight points down and having mined 0-1 from two first-half penalties, it was looking grim for the All-Ireland finalists of 2022 and 2024. There was no time for metaphorical teacup throwing in the Breffni Park changing rooms. Instead, Pádraic Joyce filled his players with confidence. A stirring comeback brought them to a point where Shane Walsh could kick a late winner from just inside the top of the two-point arc, granting them a preliminary quarter-final away to Down this Sunday. So what goers through one of the most skilled kickers in the game at a moment like that? 'Probably three different things. Firstly, when you're walking over, you're just saying 'calm, this is my job now,'' explains Walsh. 'The rest of them have done their work to win the free. Then there's a few words coming your way from opposition and then the heart rate starts to go up a bit. Shane Walsh doing what he does best! 🎯🔥 Glides it over for @Galway_GAA's first!#ARMVGAL — The GAA (@officialgaa) June 14, 2025 'Then you're coming back in saying, 'You've dreamt of this as a young lad. This is what you grew up dreaming about, saying you want to be in these situations and just commit to the kick, be yourself.' That's all I could do, I suppose, and thankfully it went over.' Joyce's half-time demeanour speaks of where he is now as a coach. More measured, thoughtful, in touch with the room and what it needs at that particular time. Advertisement Still, he has a reputation of being a little brusque though. From where Walsh is standing, that's just our interpretation. 'It's easy for us, we have him all the time,' the 32-year-old teacher explains. 'You'd probably be humoured by it as opposed to actually anything else. Because you don't really see the Pádraic that we see all the time. You just see what he says to ye (the media). 'From that perspective, we've had that side of him, but we've also had the side where he mixes things. He's a real family man as well, behind it all. As I said, the media doesn't really see the part that we know. You just see the Padraic that ye think you know. 'We'd nearly be laughing and joking about some things he could be saying things about us to the media. And sure, we know where he's coming from. It's not as if we'd be saying that's a personal attack or anything like that.' He adds, 'He has Galway's best interests at heart. He bleeds maroon and white all day long. He always has a few interesting things to say to us which do crack a smile. 'I think his best one was that you can boil an egg in five minutes but you can score a goal in one. Make of that what you want!' We're speaking at the press launch for the knockout stages of the All-Ireland football championship. Most of the time these events are a slog, with players reluctant to engage and paranoid over what they say. Like the fabled reporters of the '70s and '80s who headed for Killarney for the regular pre All-Ireland final events with Kerry footballers, you still go along for the gawk and the hope that something novel rears up. Ask Walsh about the area of confidence and instinct, and you know you have the jam that makes it worthwhile. He believes the belief that his manager and team mates have in him is a wellspring. Shauna Clinton / SPORTSFILE Shauna Clinton / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE 'Definitely as a forward. Especially when you come back from an injury in the middle of the year, it can be hard because you're chasing. 'The lads are moving at a certain level and there's a certain synchronisation that they have out on the pitch. You're trying to get to the pitch that then as well. It's tough going and you're probably taking shots that you normally would score, you'd feel. But they're not coming off for you maybe because you haven't had that repetition or you haven't had that time that the rest of them have,' he says. 'Even just to have the time on the ball to do it as well. Then it can knock you, you can go into your shell a bit I suppose. I definitely felt that probably in the Dublin game, the Derry game a bit. Where you kind of went back in (to your shell). 'Because I was like, 'I haven't done a whole pile in the last ten to eleven weeks and here I am in championship football, trying to get something out of myself.' In that environment, nothing comes easy. 'I'd say just thinking you were taking shots that you felt comfortable taking but when they weren't coming off like they normally would then you were saying to yourself, 'Jays, I mightn't take that again.' 'It's probably the worst thing for me and for the team because they're probably looking to you to take on the shots. I think that was the best thing after the Derry game that we all sat down and had a few chats. 'It was just great to have that backing of the lads in the dressing room to say to me like 'we back you no matter what' – as in, remember that when you were taking those chances. 'And that it's not a good thing for us if you're on the field and you're not taking the shots. That's essentially my role in the team as well, along with a few of the other lads.' He continues, 'I think that mattered a lot and obviously having Pádraic there as well. Having one-to-one meetings with Pádraic – people probably don't see that side of him too often in the media. 'He's quite black and white I suppose. But then when you get underneath it, you get, I suppose, the sense that he was a player himself. He probably didn't have too many confidence issues! But at the same time he kind of passed on a couple of things to me. It stood to me going into the weekend. I trained well for the two weeks and it kind of followed into last Saturday as well.' Shauna Clinton / SPORTSFILE Shauna Clinton / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE In this Big Dipper of a football championship, we have finally made it to the straight knockout stage. Related Reads 'You couldn't be happy with Saturday' - Paul Geaney gets ready for charge at Sam Maguire New kickout mark penalty to apply in this weekend's inter-county senior games How will eliminated teams reflect on 2025 Sam Maguire exit? Galway could have had worse draws than Down. All the same, Down football is feeling good about itself right now. They have made the jump from Tailteann Cup champions and do not look out of place in the Sam Maguire championship. With a vocal local crowd, some smart management and a squad of players that have grown into their own skin such as Ryan Magill, Pat Havern, Pierce Laverty and Ceilum Doherty, Mourne manager Conor Laverty will have no lack of confidence. 'They're probably the most in-form team,' Walsh cautions. 'Even with the Donegal game, they were probably unlucky with a lot of goal chances they had that day. And you see the way they've been building since the league, they're a completely different proposition. 'We all know about going up to Newry, you never get that easy up there either. Conor Laverty always has his team well-drilled. I know him, he's a lovely fella off the field but when it comes to his football, he's very serious about winning as well and he'll do whatever it takes. 'So it's a great challenge. Again, no more than the group that we had with Dublin and Derry and Armagh, having Down again, it's another unbelievable challenge if you get through it to build your confidence, build the belief in the team and build a bit of momentum.' * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
