Patrick Bradley (born 23 May 1981) is an Irish sportsman who plays

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

for John Mitchel's Glenullin and the Derry county team. With the county he has won two

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

titles, and individually an All Stars Award for his performance in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

(and has been nominated a further four times). With his club Bradley has won the

Derry Senior Football Championship The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top sixteen Derry GAA clubs. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Champio ...

. He usually plays at

full forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...

for both club and county. Bradley is regarded as one of the best forwards in Ireland, due to his accuracy in front of the posts with both left and right feet - from both open play and frees. He has consistently been a high scorer for Derry, with a career high of 2-38 (44 points) during the 2004 All-Ireland Championship. He is third all-time top Ulster scorer in Championship football with a tally of 13-177 (216 points).

Early and personal life

Bradley is from Kilrea, County Londonderry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He attended secondary school at

St Patrick's College, Maghera St. Patrick's College, also known as St. Patrick's Co-Ed Comprehensive College, is a co-educational 11–18 secondary school in Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It teaches within the Roman Catholic ethos. The school is widely re ...

. Later he attended the University of Ulster Jordanstown. Bradley is from a football background. His brother

Eoin Eoin () is a masculine Irish-language given name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is Eòin () and both are closely related to the Welsh language, Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish and English John (given name), John. In the Irish language, ...

and cousin

Gerard O'Kane Gerard O'Kane (born 5 October 1984) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Derry county team, with whom he has won a National League title. He plays his club football for John Mitchel's Glenullin and has won a Derry Senior Football Champion ...

both also play for Derry. His father

Liam Liam is a short form of the Germanic name William, or its Irish variant Uilliam. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these ...

is current manager of Antrim. His uncle,

Gabriel Bradley Gabriel Bradley is a former Gaelic footballer from Glenullin, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Bradley played for the Derry county team in the 1970s and 1980s. He won two Ulster Senior Football Championships with the county. Bradley play ...

, was part of the Derry team that won back-to-back Ulster Championships in 1975 and 1976.

Playing career

Club

Bradley plays club football for John Mitchel's Glenullin. He captained the club to success in the

. His ten points (six from open play) against reigning champions

Ballinderry Ballinderry may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballinderry, Mid Ulster, a parish on the border between Counties Londonderry and Tyrone ** Ballinderry Shamrocks, Gaelic Athletic Association club * Ballinderry, Kilcronaghan civil parish, a townland in ...

in the semi-final was instrumental in Glenullin reaching the final. Glenullin met

Bellaghy Bellaghy () is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, ...

in the final and after a replay, won the title. A combination of Bellaghy's defensive screen system and tight man-marking by

Michael McGoldrick Michael McGoldrick (born 26 November 1971, in Manchester, England) is a folk musician who plays Irish flute, uilleann pipes, low whistle and bodhran. He also plays other instruments such as acoustic guitar, cittern, and mandolin. Bands McG ...

kept Bradley relatively quiet in both games. However, he scored the winning point in the injury-time to secure the Championship for Glenullin. Earlier that year, Glenullin won the

Ulster Senior Club Football League The Ulster Senior Club Football League is an annual Gaelic football tournament played in Ulster GAA between clubs who choose to enter. It starts with a group stage, with the group winners (and for 2008 the best group runner-up) advancing to the k ...

, beating Latton of Monaghan in the final. The club reached the Ulster League final again the following year, but were defeated by fellow Derry club Ballinderry. In 2008 the club reached the final of the All-Ireland Sevens Championship, organised by Kilmacud Crokes. However, they were beaten 1–11 to 0–13 by St. Gall's of Antrim in the decider, although Bradley scored 0-05. Glenullin, jointly with Ballinderry won the 2008 Derry Senior Football League. Bradley was Glenullin captain for four seasons between 2005 and 2008. While in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the summer of 2003, Bradley played for the Wolfe Tones GAA Club in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After a replay the Wolfe Tones won the Chicago Senior Football Championship.

Inter-county

Bradley made his debut for the Derry

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

team in late 1999 aged 18. In his first season Derry won the 2000

, defeating

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

in the final. He made his

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

debut later that year in the Ulster Championship against

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

, and Derry reached the Ulster final, but lost to

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

. The following season he received his first nomination for an All Stars Award, as Derry reached the All-Ireland semi-final but were defeated by

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. In 2004, Bradley (2-38) and

Enda Muldoon Enda Muldoon (born 11 September 1977) is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team and has won an Ulster Senior Football Championship and two National League titles with the county, as well as Ulster Minor, Ulster Under ...

(3-24) contributed nearly 70% of Derry's total of 7-92 (113 points) in that year's Championship. Bradley received another All Star nomination that year. Bradley was Derry

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and received a third All Star nomination that year. Longford knocked Derry out of the 2006 Championship after a suspense-filled game, despite Bradley's scoring 2–07 against them. In addition to another All Star nomination in 2006, he was also nominated for the full forward spot on the inaugural

GPA Gaelic Team of the Year The GPA Gaelic Team of the Year known for sponsorship reason as The Opel Gaelic Team of the Year awards were an awards ceremony to honour the performances of Gaelic Athletic Association players. The awards were judged and awarded by the Gaelic Pl ...

, but lost out to

Kieran Donaghy Kieran Donaghy (born 1 March 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and basketball player. He plays for Tralee club Austin Stacks and, formerly, at senior level for the Kerry county team. Donaghy won four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship m ...

of Kerry. In January 2007 Bradley was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in the All Star match between the 2006 and 2005 All Stars. In April 2007 Bradley was banned for 12 weeks after a "minor physical interference" with a referee in a club game for Glenullin. He appealed the decision to both the Derry County Board and the Ulster Council, but both were rejected. However, the suspension was lifted after an appeal to the Disputes Resolution Authority, held on 29 May. Bradley had an impressive season in 2007, ending with five points from play in the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. On 19 October 2007, he was announced as full forward on the 2007 All Star team. He was also named in the 2007 GPA Team of the Year. Derry finished top of Division 1 of the 2008 National League and along with second placed Kerry qualified for the final, which Derry won. Derry become the favourites to win the Ulster Championship. However, despite a good opening Ulster Championship victory over Donegal, (where Bradley scored 10 points in a man of the match display, Derry exited the Ulster Championship against Fermanagh at the semi-final stage and were defeated by

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

in the first round of the Qualifiers. He again received a nomination for a GPA All Star. Bradley and Derry again reached the National League final in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, but were defeated by Kerry. Derry opened their 2009 Championship campaign with a win over Monaghan. However, they were defeated in the next round by Tyrone. Bradley was named captain for that game in the absence of suspended regular captain Fergal Doherty and injured vice-captain Niall McCusker. Bradley only scored one point against Tyrone and it later emerged he was carrying an injury into the game. They were drawn against Monaghan again in the first round of the Qualifiers. On Monday 6 July 2009, five days ahead of the second clash with Monaghan, shock reports emerged that Bradley had quit the Derry panel. Speculation mounted that he had told the then county manager

Damian Cassidy Damian Cassidy (born 22 July 1965), is a Gaelic football manager and former player for the Derry county team in the 1980s and 1990s, who was part of the county's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, starting at left half forward. He al ...

he was leaving after an in-house training game the day before. The Derry County Board released a statement on Monday night stating "Such rumours are totally unfounded and without substance". Bradley played against Monaghan and scored 2-08 (2-06 from play) in a man-of-the-match performance. Derry's 2009 campaign however ended the following week with defeat to Donegal, with Bradley being forced off injured in the second half. In November 2010, with a new Derry manager in place, it was reported by ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'' that Bradley would again be available for selection for the 2011 county panel.

Championship scoring details

Province

Bradley won

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medals with

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in 2004 and 2007.

International

Bradley was overlooked for a place on the Ireland squad for the 2004 International Rules Series against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 2005, despite scoring 24 points in a trial game he missed out again. He was in contention for a place in the 2006 team, but did not make the final 25-man panel due to injury/fitness concerns. The 2007 series was cancelled, Bradley was however selected for the 2008 Series in

School and college

Playing in the half forward line, Bradley reached the 1998

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

final with St. Pat's, but they were defeated by

St Colman's College, Newry St Colman's College is a Roman Catholic English-medium education, English-medium grammar school for boys, situated in Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The college was founded in 1823 as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore, Dromore Dio ...

. He also played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

at school and helped the school win the Mageean Cup. Bradley was part of the UUJ team that won the

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

in 2001. He was top scorer in the final with 0-05. He also won two Ryan Cup medals with the university.

Media work

Bradley has appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's championship coverage.

Managerial career

Bradley managed Newbridge to the

Derry Intermediate Football Championship The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the ''M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship'') is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to De ...

and was an Antrim coach working with his father

. Paddy Bradley was then "involved with" the Donegal

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

club

Gaoth Dobhair Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo ...

. In late 2020, he was appointed as Derry under-20 football manager. In November 2022, Bradley joined the backroom team of the Donegal senior footballers, working under the management of

Paddy Carr Paddy Carr is a Gaelic football manager and former player. He played for, and later managed, the senior Donegal county team. While managing Kilmacud Crokes, Carr won the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Club ...

Honours

Inter-county

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

: **Winner (2): 2000,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

**Runner-up:

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

: **Runner up: 2000 *

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

: **Runner up: 2005, 2008, more?

Club

*All-Ireland Kilmacud Crokes Sevens Championship: **Runner up: 2008 *

: **Winner: 2007 **Runner up: 2008 *

: **Winner (1):

*Derry Senior Football League: **Winner (1): 2008 *Chicago Senior Football Championship: **Winner (1): 2003

School and college

: **Winner (1): 2001 *Ryan Cup: **Winner (2): Years? *

: **Runner up: 1998 *Mageenan Cup (hurling): **Winner (at least 1): 1998

Province

: **Winner (2): 2004, 2007

International

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

: **Winner (1):

Individual

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

: **Winner (1): 2007 **Nominated (runner up): 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 * GPA All Star: **Winner (1): 2007 **Nominated (runner-up): 2006, 2008 * Irish News Ulster GAA All-Star - Winner (5): 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 *Derry Senior football captain: 2005 *Derry Senior Football Championship winning captain:

Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

Notes

*A. Scores are recorded in the format -; a goal is where the ball goes under the crossbar and a point is where the ball goes over the crossbar. Each goal equals three points. For example, 2-38 = 2 goals and 38 points, making a total of 2 × 3 + 38 = 44 points. See GAA scoring rules for more information. *B. Sevens is a form of Gaelic football where teams consist of seven players instead of the normal 15. Games are shorter, faster, more open and higher-scoring than normal football. *C. The

is the premier inter-county competition, contested by 31 of Ireland's 32

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(plus

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

). Each county participates in their respective provincial championship (in Derry's case the Ulster Championship) which operate through a

knock-out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...

cup competition format. The winners of each of the four Provincial Championships earn one of eight places in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The 28 teams that fail to win their respective provincial championships receive a second opportunity to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals via the All Ireland Qualifiers. The counties enter the Qualifiers at different stages (depending on how far they reached in their provincial championship). Four teams come through this system and join the four provincial champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.See

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

for more details.

References

External links

Interview with ''The Sunday Times'' (July 2009)
* ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/7858865.stm Interview with BBC (January 2009)*
Player profiles on Official Derry GAA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Paddy 1981 births Living people Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Donegal county football team non-playing personnel Gaelic football forwards Gaelic football managers Gaelic games commentators Glenullin Gaelic footballers Irish international rules football players