Paddy "Rusty" Ruschitzko (29 April 1917 – 4 March 2004) was an American-born Irish sportsperson. He played

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 ...

with his local club Clonad and was a member of the

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 ...

senior inter-county team from the 1930s until the 1950s. Ruschitzko captained Laois in their last

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

final appearance in 1949.

Biography

Patrick Ruschitzko was brought up in

Muine Bheag Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small th ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

, where his mother brought the family on the death of her husband. Ruschitzko was educated locally, however, the family later moved to

Mountmellick Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-wester ...

, County Laois. It was here that his hurling skills were first noted. Ruschitzko, however, later emigrated 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 ...

for a period. On his return he joined the staff of Irish Worsted Mills in

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050, which was well above ...

. He ended up as manager of the mills and remained there until the firm's closure in 1973. He married Lillian Dunne and had three children, two girls and one boy who died at a very young age. Paddy Ruschitzko died 4 March 2004.

Playing career

Club

With his club, Clonad, Ruschitzko won over 20 major honours and was part of the three-in-a-row team that won the

Laois Senior Hurling Championship The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888. Clough–Ballacolla (incl Ballygeehan) are the ...

in 1946, ‘47 and ‘48.

Inter-county

Having moved to live in

, he starred on the

minor team which was denied

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

glory in 1934 in the final, which

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

won by one point after a long period of injury time. In 1949, Paddy was captain of the Laois team which won the

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hu ...

. Playing at left half back he marked the legendary

Jimmy Langton Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

and Laois scored a shock 4–5 to 2–7 win over a powerful Kilkenny team. In the All-Ireland semi-final, Laois defeated Galway 4–6 to 3–5, leaving Paddy to lead out his team in the All-Ireland final parade opposite his old school colleague, Pat Stakelum, who was captain of the Tipperary team. Tipperary ran out easy winners but Ruschitzko's place in

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

history is secure as Laois haven't won a Leinster title since.

References

Teams

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruschitzko, Paddy 1917 births 2004 deaths Clonad hurlers Laois inter-county hurlers Irish people of Ukrainian descent Irish people of Polish descent American emigrants to Ireland