Paddy Coad (14 April 1920 – 8 March 1992) was an Irish
football player and manager. He played as a forward for
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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,
Glenavon
Glenavon Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club that competes in the NIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. Gar ...
,
Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Although known, primarily, as a maker of goals, Coad scored 126 goals in the
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
and a further 41 in the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
. In 1946–47, he was top goalscorer in the League of Ireland. As a player manager, he also guided Shamrock Rovers to three League of Ireland titles and two FAI Cups, before he returned to Waterford and guided them to their first league title in 1966. He was appointed manager of
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
in September 1967.
[ ]
Early years
Coad was educated at
De La Salle school in Stephen Street in
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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and first distinguished himself as a sportsman playing
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of pla ...
and table tennis. He was even
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...
champion at the latter sport. He also began to play
football with Corinthians, a local junior club based in Lower Yellow Road area of
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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. He was soon spotted by
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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, making his
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
debut in 1937 while still only 17. He then moved to
Irish Football League club
Glenavon
Glenavon Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club that competes in the NIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. Gar ...
but returned to Waterford after the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. He was a member of the
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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team that finished as a runners up to
Cork United in both the League of Ireland and the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
. Waterford could have won the league title, but their players refused to turn up for a play-off game against Cork after a dispute over bonus payments.
Shamrock Rovers
Coad signed for
Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
in 1942 and made his debut against Brideville in the FAI Cup on 8 February. During his early seasons with the club played alongside
Peter Farrell,
Tommy Eglington,
Jimmy McAlinden and
Tommy Breen
Tommy Breen (27 April 1912 – 1 March 1988) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, among others, Belfast Celtic, Manchester United, Linfield and Shamrock Rovers. Breen was a dual international and played for both Ireland t ...
. He also helped Rovers win the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
three times. In November 1949, after the untimely death of
Jimmy Dunne, Coad reluctantly accepted the position of player manager. He brought in many young players, including
Liam Tuohy, and the team became known as ''Coad's Colts''. The Colts won 19 trophies between 1954 and 1959. Under the guidance of Coad, Rovers won three
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
titles and the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
twice. In 1957 they also made their debut in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. Despite losing 9–2 on aggregate to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, Coad at the age of 37, dominated the away game at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...
. He made 2 appearances in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
.
Waterford
Coad returned home to manage the Blues in 1960. In the
1965–66 League of Ireland
Statistics of League of Ireland in the 1965/1966 season.
Overview
It was contested by 12 teams, and Waterford won the championship.
Final classification
Results
Top scorers
{{DEFAULTSORT:1965-66 League of Ireland
League of Ireland se ...
season Waterford won the Championship for the first time. Coad reflected on his legacy: "To bring the first title to my native Waterford leaves everything else in the shade."
Irish international
Between 1946 and 1952, Coad also made 11 appearances and scored 3 goals for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He made his debut on 30 September 1946 in a 1–0 defeat to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. On 2 March 1947, he scored his first goal for Ireland in a 3–2 win against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. During this game Coad also set up both of Ireland's other goals for
Davy Walsh
David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016), commonly referred to as Davy Walsh or Dave Walsh, was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dua ...
. On 22 May 1949, he scored the only goal, a penalty, in a 1–0 win over
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
. His third goal for Ireland came on 30 May 1951 in 3–2 away win over
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. Ireland were 2–0 down until
Peter Farrell and
Alf Ringstead levelled the score. Then in the 82nd minute Coad scored from 20 yards to win the game. Coad played his last game for Ireland in a 6–0 away defeat against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
on 1 June 1952.
Paddy's brother Seamus was also capped himself for Ireland and both Seamus' sons Gary and Nigel Coad were also capped at under age level thus continuing the family tradition Paddy started all those years previously.
He won the Texaco Hall of Fame Award in 1981 and the
PFAI Merit Award in 1983.
Other information
The Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year trophy is named after Paddy Coad.
Paddy's wife, Kathleen, was the daughter of the then Rovers chairman, Joe Cunningham.
His brother, Seamus, played for Waterford in the late 1960s and managed them in the 1990s. Seamus' sons Gary Coad and Nigel Coad continued the family name by lining out for the Blues under their father before both going on to win many trophies locally. Amazingly, both Gary and Nigel became only the third set of second generation brothers to play together for Waterford, following Paddy and Seamus, the Hales and Fitzgeralds.
In 2012, Seamus' grandson, Conor, became the latest Coad to play for
Waterford United
Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...
.
As of 2015 Coad is twenty second in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 126 league goals.
Honours
*
League of Ireland Top Scorer -
1946–47[
]
International
Sources
* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins ()
* ''Gods Vs Mortals: Irish Clubs in Europe a Front Row Seat at 10 of the Greatest Games'' by Paul Keane ()
References
External links
Ireland (FAI) stats
Coad and Shamrock Rovers history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coad, Paddy
1920 births
1992 deaths
Association footballers from County Waterford
League of Ireland players
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Republic of Ireland international footballers
Ireland (FAI) international footballers
Waterford F.C. players
Glenavon F.C. players
NIFL Premiership players
Shamrock Rovers F.C. players
Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers
Waterford F.C. managers
Limerick F.C. managers
Republic of Ireland football managers
League of Ireland managers
League of Ireland XI players
Association football forwards