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" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, Glenavon, Shamrock Rovers 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. 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

and first distinguished himself as a sportsman playing hurling and table tennis. He was even Munster champion at the latter sport. He also began to play football with Corinthians, a local junior club based in Lower Yellow Road area of

. He was soon spotted by

, making his

debut in 1937 while still only 17. He then moved to

Irish Football League Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

club Glenavon 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He was a member of the

team that finished as a runners up to Cork United in both the League of Ireland and the FAI Cup. 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 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 Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

Jimmy McAlinden James McAlinden (27 December 1917 – 15 November 1993) was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, most notably, Belfast Celtic, Portsmouth, Shamrock Rovers and Southend United. As an international, McAlinden also played ...

and Tommy Breen. He also helped Rovers win the FAI Cup three times. In November 1949, after the untimely death of

Jimmy Dunne James Dunne (3 September 1905 – 14 November 1949) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton. Dunne was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams: ...

, 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

titles and the FAI Cup twice. In 1957 they also made their debut in the European Cup. Despite losing 9–2 on aggregate to Manchester United, Coad at the age of 37, dominated the away game at Old Trafford. He made 2 appearances in the European Cup.

Waterford

Coad returned home to manage the Blues in 1960. In the 1965–66 League of Ireland 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

. 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 b ...

. 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") , i ...

. During this game Coad also set up both of Ireland's other goals for Davy Walsh. On 22 May 1949, he scored the only goal, a penalty, in a 1–0 win over

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. 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 the ...

. Ireland were 2–0 down until Peter Farrell and

Alf Ringstead Alfred Ringstead (14 October 1927 – 15 January 2000) was a professional footballer who played in the position of outside right for Sheffield United between 1950 and 1959. He was the son of jockey Charlie Ringstead. As a 14-year-old, Ringstea ...

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

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 The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland (PFAI) is the representative body for professional and semi-professional footballers in Republic of Ireland. Players from all nationalities in the League of Ireland are represented, not just Iri ...

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 A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulst ...

- 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