Paddy Phelan

Who was Paddy Phelan?

Patrick "Paddy" Phelan was an Irish hurler who played as a left wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team.

Born in Freshford, County Kilkenny, Phelan arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-one when he first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team. He made his debut in the 1931 championship. Phelan went on to play a key part for more than a decade, and won four All-Ireland medals, eight Leinster medals and one National Hurling League medal. Phelan was an All-Ireland runner-up on four occasions.

Phelan represented the Leinster inter-provincial team for a remarkable thirteen years, winning four Railway Cup medals in 1932, 1933, 1936 and 1941. At club level he won three championship medals with Tullaroan.

Throughout his career, Phelan made 42 championship appearances for Kilkenny. His retirement came following Kilkenny's defeat in the 1942 championship.

His grandnephew, D. J. Carey, was a five-time All-Ireland medallist with Kilkenny.

Phelan is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including as wing-back on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.