In the land of Tír na nÓG with Pádraig and Richie
Pádraig Amond and Richie Coady
“Long threatening comes at last,” texted TJ Redmond, he of Carlow via Tipperary, when it was confirmed that the tickets were booked and the transport organised for Waterford FC’s home game at the RSC against Sligo Rovers last Friday evening. Ever since fellow ‘Nationalist’ columnist and former Carlow minor hurler, Pádraig Amond, signed for the Blues in January 2024 we had it in our heads to go down and watch him in action. Indeed the first time the idea was floated at our weekly cuppa TJ had arrived with a hand-printed page of Pádraig’s impressive soccer career details, complete with club appearances and goals scored.
Amond quickly added to his stats when enjoying an excellent maiden season with Waterford and we delighted when in May 2024 Pádraig netted a 13 minute hat-trick live on television in a 4-2 comeback win over Drogheda United in the RSC. In a lovely touch afterwards when talking to the media, Pádraig, with his little boy Eoghan by his side, said “I am proud that he got to see his Daddy get a hat-trick. I have a few hat-tricks in my career, but for my young son to be here with his grandad to see it, it’s fantastic. I’m delighted that I have a match ball here for my son.”
The Carlow natives Waterford career continued to thrive and when it was announced he had made an astonishing 800th senior appearance we again renewed the pledge to travel to the Decies to see him play. When the logistics ordained that this long threatened trip would take place on the Friday of the Carlow County Hurling Final your scribe had a bit of a quandary. The column the week after the final would be expected to have a hurling angle but a rare trip to a soccer match demanded attention too.
If I took the bold move of ignoring the hurling final and concentrated on the soccer then Pádraig Amond’s GAA background and particularly his high profile role in steering Carlow to our historic one and only Leinster Minor Hurling Championship final appearance back in 2006 was going to be recalled. I was lucky enough to cover those minor hurling games for this newspaper and to this day can remember clearly the feeling of joy that the famous wins over Wexford and Offaly evoked among the county’s small ball fraternity. However to jog my memory further on those events of 19 years ago I delved into the archive on Friday afternoon and unearthed the reports of those games.
“Poise, polish, power and passion produced the perfect performance. While the shock win was as merited {2-12 to 0-11} as it was historic - the county’s first ever over Wexford - what made this sensational Leinster MHC quarter-final display so hugely satisfying was the superb skill factor involved.” So opened our report, then a few paragraphs in we wrote, “you can read in more detail in ‘scores by clock’ how those goals came about, suffice here to say that the two Padraig Amond ‘majors were netted at a vital juncture, Wexford just having inched in front for the first time. Amond, a real predator, proved his innate scoring instincts when getting ‘down and dirty’ to force the sliothar over the line in the 20th minute but most of the credit for that opening goal must go down to Richard Coady’s rollicking run. Amond’s second strike was pure class, collecting a low ball from Cian Clancy and drilling a rising shot into the Deerpark end rigging.” We followed our own advice of nearly two decades previously and perused the ‘scores by the clock’ of that May 2006 Wexford game and read: “20th min: Goal! Richard Coady embarked on a searing solo-run through the heart of the Wexford defence, carrying the ball from outside the 45m line to inside the 13m line before his attempted goal shot was blocked. However the ‘break’ fell to Padraig Amond who ushered the ball over the line.” RICHIE COADY: The fact that it was Richard Coady who provided the ‘assist’ was music to my ears as it solved my quandary! You see on Sunday 37 years-young Richie - I have it on reliable authority he prefers to be called Richie (isn’t that right Deirdre?!) - played in his 21st Carlow Senior Hurling Championship final, including two replays. Only the Myshall trio of Paddy Quirke (23), Micky Nolan (22) and Ned Kavanagh (21) had played in more finals. But’s here’s the thing. Paddy’s 23 includes five replays, leaving his figure in years at 18. Likewise, Micky participated in five replays, putting him on 17 and Ned six replays put him on 15. Richie’s 21 minus his two replays places his figures in years at 19, a new record! Now three of Coady’s 19 came as a sub whereas Quirke started and finished his 18 but on a purely statistical level Richie’s 19 takes top spot. In a very impressive Mount Leinster Rangers victory Richie struck his fair share of ball and played his usual clever game. He was winning his 12th SHC medal on the field of play placing the Ranger third in the all-time list behind Paddy Quirke’s 15 and Micky Nolan’s 14. Richie - who has played 152 SHC games in Rangers red and black - holds the record for the most appearances with the Carlow senior hurling team, a stunning 190. Add in 15 championship appearances with the county minor hurlers and eight with the U-21’s and his tally for outings in the red, yellow and green rises to 223. Legend.
Pádraig Amond has long attained legendary status for a stellar professional soccer career of amazing longevity, the 800 senior appearances now at 806 during which ‘Podge’ has scored a massive 249 goals. Shamrock Rovers, Kildare County, Sligo Rovers, Pacos Ferriera (Portugal), Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Grimsby Town, Hartlepool United, Newport County, Exeter City, Woking and now Waterford have all benefited from his poachers instincts, field craft and work-rate. Indeed the most impressive aspect of his game the other night was that at 37 years of age he was still willing and able to put in the hard yards to tackle back and cover space. It’s not all about the glory of locating the net. Speaking of longevity and locating the net, here’s one for you: Owen Elding, Sligo Rovers No 47 who scored the winning goal in their 2-1 victory on Friday night, was just three years of age when his father in 2011 replaced Pádraig Amond as the striker in Sligo. Now Amond (12 goals) and Elding Junior (10) are the leading scorers in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Despite the fact the game went against his side and Pádraig, now the team captain, was subbed off for the first time in his Waterford career, the Carlow man was good enough to come out and meet us after the game, have a little chat, pose for a few photographs. It was much appreciated.
Pádraig Amond, who played his club hurling with Naomh Bríd, was in Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday to watch the Ballinabranna/Old Leighlin/Leighlinbridge club win the Carlow IHC, his brother Aaron playing a leading role. Pádraig played 11 games with the Carlow Minor Hurlers, scoring 9-24, winning an All-Ireland ‘B’ medal in 2005, and in ’06 contesting the Leinster final v Kilkenny in Croke Park (well beaten) and All-Ireland quarter-final v Tipperary in Nowlan Park (Noel McGrath coming on as a sub for the Premier the same day). ‘Podge’ also scored 2-7 for the Carlow minor footballers in the two game 2005 Leinster campaign. He also scored the winning goal for Michael Davitts in the 2001 U-14 A final v Éire Óg. After the minor hurling win over Offaly in Portlaoise in the ’06 Leinster semi-final our comment on him was: “What can you say to do justice to this individual performance other than exclaim ‘poetry in motion’! Four fabulous first half points when sited at right half forward, each one a work of art, then faded from the scene somewhat until, now at full forward he took ‘centre-stage’ again in injury-time. His first goal was cheeky but classy, a fantastic finish, and even his second, - lethal from 6 inches! - is deserving of praise for if the quick-thinking No. 14 had not ‘touched’ Paudie Kehoe’s ‘hand-pass’ the goal would not have stood! 2-4 from play, 1-4 of which were as good as anything Eoin Kelly, Henry Shefflin or Joe Deane could produce. ‘Nuff said!”
The old Irish saying ‘An rud is annamh is iontach’ that translates as ‘what’s rare is wonderful’ came to mind on Friday evening as we journeyed to Waterford. Behind the wheel was Bearnard Ó Sé, he of the Bullock Park Branch of the Sligo Rovers Supporters Club, who has attended a number of games in their Show Grounds. In the passenger seat was TJ Redmond, who with an old friend Moloney, used to thumb from Clonmel to Waterford soccer games in Kilcohan Park in the early 1960s. Beside me in the back was my brother Michael who during his time residing in Ferrybank frequented Kilcohan Park in the early 1970s when a Blues team with Alfie Hale, goalkeeper Peter Thomas and our near namesake Jimmy McGeough harvested a host of League of Ireland titles. Then there was me! I was at the FAI Cup final in Dalymount Park in 1976, the second phase of part of a plan to attend a rugby game in Landsdowne Road, a soccer match in Dalymount Park, a hurling match in Semple Stadium, Thurles and a football match in Croke Park in the one calendar year. The Cup final was fixed for Easter Sunday. I trained it to Heuston Station and walked to Phibsboro where Bohemians beat Drogheda United 1-nil. Don’t remember who scored the winning goal but do remember that a teenage Ashley Grimes, who won an FA Cup medal as sub with Manchester United in 1983, had a goal disallowed. “A tall, gangly, pale-faced kid who gave the impression that he’d just dropped his schoolbag on the sideline” was how Mel Moffat, colourfully described Grimes in his ‘Irish Press’ report. Also remember that the game was preceded by a curtain-raiser - very unusual for soccer - and making it even more unusual was the fact that it was a Ladies Soccer International between Ireland and Scotland. All that action took place on Sunday, April 18, 1976. Friday night last, August 22, 2025, was my first time at a League of Ireland match. Between the two fixtures was a mere 49 years, four months and four days. And sure as one had a 3.30pm kick-off and the other a 7.45pm start we can add 4 hours 15 minutes to the gap! Better not leave it as long the next time!
