Patrick Anthony Kennedy (9 October 1934 – 18 March 2007) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a left-back for various clubs in the 1950s. As one of the Busby Babes, he was part of the

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 ...

side that won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 1953.

Football career

Kennedy was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, in the Irish Republic and moved to England to join

as a 15-year-old. Awarded his professional contract in February 1953, Kennedy played alongside the likes of

Duncan Edwards Duncan Edwards (1 October 1936 – 21 February 1958) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid ...

Eddie Colman Edward Colman (1 November 1936 – 6 February 1958) was an English football player and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster. Colman was born on Archie Street in Ordsall, Salford, Lanca ...

David Pegg David Pegg (20 September 1935 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer and one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958. Career He signed for United on leaving school in 1950 an ...

and

Liam Whelan William Augustine Whelan (1 April 1935 – 6 February 1958), also known as Billy Whelan or Liam Whelan, was an Irish footballer and one of the eight Manchester United players who were killed in the Munich air disaster. He was 22 years old when ...

in United's FA Youth Cup winning side of

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, when they defeated

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, 9–3 on aggregate. Kennedy only made one first-team appearance for United, also against Wolves, in a 4–2 defeat on 2 October 1954. He spent two further seasons in the reserves before a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in August 1956. Kennedy spent three seasons at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, where his path to the first-team was blocked by long-serving

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 b ...

international

Bill Eckersley William Eckersley (16 July 1925 – 25 October 1982) was an English footballer. He played as a fullback, spending his entire playing career at Blackburn Rovers. Football career Eckersley was born at Southport and after finishing school worked a ...

. and he managed only three first-team appearances (all in the 1957–58 promotion winning season), before a transfer to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

of the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in July 1959. On joining the "Saints", he was immediately drafted into the first-team, making his debut in the opening game of the 1959–60 season, a 2–2 draw with Norwich City. He retained his place for the next match, a 2–3 defeat at

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, before being replaced at left-back by fellow-Irishman Tommy Traynor, who kept the number 3 shirt for the rest of the season, at the end of which Southampton were Division 3 champions. Kennedy only made four appearances for the Southampton reserves, with David Scurr blocking his way into the side, and was given a free transfer at the end of the season. Kennedy then joined Oldham Athletic, but never made the Latics' first team due to injury.

Later career

Kennedy later managed a local amateur side in Urmston, close to

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 Wemb ...

, where he remained resident until his death in March 2007. He was survived by his wife Bridget, four children, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. His grandson

Kieran Kennedy Kieran James Kennedy (born 23 September 1993) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the grandson of Paddy Kennedy. A former England under-19 international, he began his career in the academies at Manch ...

is also a professional footballer with York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Paddy 1934 births 2007 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Manchester United F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players