Pádraig Coyne (born 9 March 1960) is a retired Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who played as a goalkeeper with the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

senior team and his local club Milltown. Coyne attended

St Colman's College, Claremorris St Colman's College is an all-boys Catholic secondary school in Claremorris, County Mayo History The school was founded in 1945, as a school for the boys of Claremorris to attend instead of having to travel to Ballinrobe. An Old Manor House on t ...

where he helped the school to win their first and only

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

in 1977, playing as full-back. He won an All-Ireland Minor Football Championship with Galway in 1976 and was an All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship runner-up in 1981 following a defeat to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

after a replay. Coyne joined the Galway senior team the same year in 1981, winning the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in his first season with the county. He played for Galway in the

1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, also known as the Game of Shame ( ga, An Cluiche Náireach), was the 96th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Ga ...

; however, they were beaten by

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 ...

. Coyne won an All-Ireland Junior Football Championship with Galway in 1985. With this, he has played in an All-Ireland football final in every possible grade for his county.

College

Pádraig Coyne lived on the Mayo border town of Milltown and attended

. He had several successes there, winning Connacht titles at First Year, Juvenile and Junior levels before going on to win at Senior level also, defeating close rivals St. Jarlath's College, Tuam in the 1977 final. Centering the defence at full-back, Coyne played a role in helping Colman's to go on to the

final. There they met Carmelite College, Moate. Colman's managed to edge the win 1-11 to 1-10, securing their first and only to date Hogan Cup win.

Inter-County

Minor and Under-21

Coyne first appeared on the Galway scene as a sixteen year old minor in 1976. Galway walked their way through the Connacht Minor Final, defeating Sligo 6-16 to 3-3. In the All-Ireland final, Galway met

in the final whom they defeated 1-10 to 0-6. His second season with the minor team wasn't as successful, however, with Galway failing even to reach the Connacht final. His third and final season in 1978 ended with Galway being defeated by

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the Connacht final 2-6 to 0-4 as Coyne played at full-back. Coyne won a

Connacht Under-21 Football Championship The Connacht GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Connacht Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the hig ...

medal in 1981 when Galway beat Mayo 0-9 to 0-8. Galway would reach the All-Ireland final facing Cork, drawing 0-14 to 2-8. The final would be a memorable one for Coyne however, as he became the first goalkeeper to score a goal in an All-Ireland final, converting from the penalty spot. Injuries plagued Galway in the replay however with Cork running out winners 2-9 to 1-6.

Senior

Coyne joined the Galway senior panel at the early age of nineteen. He soon found success picking up a

for the 1980-81 season with Galway overcoming

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

in an all-Connacht final. His first Connacht Senior Football Championship win came the following year when Galway beat Mayo 3-17 to 0-10 in the 1982 final. Galway would be beaten by eventual champions

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. Coyne won his second Connacht Senior medal the following year with Galway beating Mayo again 1-13 to 1-10. Galway would go on to reach the

but would go down to

's "Dirty Dozen" in the infamous "Game of Shame". Galway had one player sent off while Dublin had three dismissed, a record for an All-Ireland Final. The game was even more forgettable for Coyne as he was famously lobbed by

Barney Rock Barney Rock (born 10 January 1961) is a former Gaelic footballer and Manager (Gaelic games), manager at club and inter-county level (he managed Westmeath county football team, Westmeath in the mid-1990s). Biography Born in Ballymun, but growing ...

from forty yards out as Dublin won 1-10 to 1-8. It was Coyne's last championship game for Galway. Coyne would later play for the Galway Junior team, winning an All-Ireland Junior Football Championship in 1985, completing a unique record of playing in an All-Ireland final at every grade for his county. Pádraig Coyne has also represented

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in the

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) 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 ...

Club

Coyne made his senior championship debut for Milltown in 1977. His biggest success with the club came in 1981 when the North Galway side defeated St. Grellan's of Ballinasloe in the Galway Senior Football Championship final. Coyne played in three other county finals for Milltown in 1978, 1986 and 1987 but ended up on the losing side in each. He made his final championship appearance for Milltown in 1992 making 34 appearances in that time.

Honours

; Milltown * Galway Senior Football Championship : (1) 1981 **Runner-up : (3) 1978, 1986, 1987 ;

Connacht Colleges Senior Football Championship Connacht colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Connacht. They compete for the Aonghus Murphy Memorial Cup. The winners advance to the Hogan Cup, the All-Ireland colleges ...

: (1) 1977 *

: (1) 1977 ;

Connacht Minor Football Championship The Connacht Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18 until 2017, now under-17) in the province of C ...

: (1) 1976 **Runner-up : (1) 1978 * All-Ireland Minor Football Championship : (1) 1976 *

: (1) 1981 *

: (1) 1980-81 * Connacht Senior Football Championship : (2) 1982, 1983 * All-Ireland Junior Football Championship : (1) 1985

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coyne, Pádraig 1960 births Living people Gaelic football goalkeepers Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Milltown Gaelic footballers