Paddy O'Rourke (born 1960 in Burren,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player. He played football with his local club Burren and was a member of the Down senior inter-county team from the 1970s until the 1990s. O'Rourke captained Down to the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

title in 1991. He managed the

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

senior football team from 2009 top 2012.RTÉ news
report of replacement, 2012 Paddy's son Pauric was part of the Down minor team in 2008 and Under-21 team in 2010.

Minor & Under 21

O'Rourke joined the Down Minor team in 1977 Down made it to the Ulster Minor Final where Down played

the first game was a draw 0-08 to 1-05 Down would win the replay 0-11 to 1-06 giving O'Rourke his first and only Ulster medal Down made it the All-Ireland Final where Down Played

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Down won 2-06 to 0-04 giving Paddy an All-Ireland he was the caption of the team in 1978 but Down got beat by Tyrone in the semi-final. Paddy was part of the Down under 21 team that won 3

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

in a row 1977 1978 1979 Down made it the 2 finals of the

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

1977 and 1979 Down were beat in 1977 by Kerry in the final. Down made it 2 Ulster Under-21s in a row beating

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

for the 2nd year in a row in the final 0-11 to 1-06 Down were beat in the All-Ireland semi-final 1979 saw Down take the honours in Ulster for the 3rd year in a row beating Tyrone 1-09 to 0-05 Down would later win the All-Ireland beating

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in the final 1-09 to 0-07 giving paddy his first and only All-Ireland Under-21 medal.

Senior

O'Rourke joined the Down senior team in 1978, winning an Ulster title by beating Cavan in the final 2-19 to 2-12. O'Rourke was a substitute. He came on in the semi-final. Down were beat by

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

1-16 to 0-08. In 1981 Down played

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

in the first round of the Ulster Championship. It was a draw at 0-10 to 0-10. Down won the replay 3-4 to 1-9, O'Rourke scoring 0-1. Down played

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in the semi-final. It was a close game. Down won 0-12 to 0-9. Down were through to the Ulster Final where they faced raining Ulster champions and archrivals

. Down would win the game 3-12 to 1-10, a second Ulster winners' medal. Down were beat by Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final 1-16 to 0-8. O'Rourke won his first and only

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Division 1 in 1983, beating Armagh 1-8 to 0-8. Down advanced to the Ulster final in 1986 where they met Tyrone. It was a close game but he ended up on the losing side as Down were beat 1-11 to 0-10. O'Rourke won his first

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

in 1987, beating

2-9 to 1-10. Down advanced to the National Football League final in 1990 where they played

. It was a close game but Meath won 2-7 to 0-10. Down played Armagh in the Ulster quarter-final. Down won 1-7 to 0-8. Down would beat Derry after a replay 0-14 to 0-8 in the Ulster semi-final. Down played the reigning Ulster champions Donegal. Down won 1-15 to 0-10, giving O'Rourke his third Ulster winners medal. Down played Kerry. Down trailed 1-3 to 0-7 but Down won 2-9 to 0-8. O'Rourke led Down their first

after a twenty-three year period. Down won 1-16 to 1-14. O'Rourke won his second McKenna Cup in 1992, beating Cavan 1-13 to 0-7.

Management career

O'Rourke took over Down seniors in 2003, leading them to their first Ulster final since 1999. The match with Tyrone was drawn but Tyrone won the replay. He was manager of the Down team from 2003-2006. He led the Down under-21s to an Ulster title in 2005, beating

2-14 to 2-12. O'Rourke took

to an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Division 2 title in his first year. On 26 July 2012, following a defeat by

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in the All-Ireland qualifiers,

Armagh GAA The Armagh County Board () or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The county board is resp ...

announced his replacement by Paul Grimley.

Honours

County *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

(3): 1978 1981 1991 C *

(3): 1977 1978 1979 *

Division 2 (2): 1982 1988 *

(2): 1987 1992 *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

(1): 1991 (c) *

Division 1 (1): 1983 *

1979 *

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is T ...

(1): 1977 *

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...

(1): 1977 Club * Down Senior Football Championship (8): 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1992 *

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Senior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition was first held in 1968 an ...

(5): 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 *

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

(2): 1986 1988 * Down Minor Football Championship (2): 1974 1979 * Down Under-16 Football Championship (1): 1976 School * Down Under-16 Vocational Schools Championship (2): 1974 1975 * Ulster Under-16 Vocational Schools Championship (2): 1974 1975 * All-Ireland Under-16 Vocational Schools Championship (2): 1975 1976 Manager * Monaghan Senior Football Championship (2): 2001 2002 *

(1): 2005 *

Division 2 (1): 2010 * Down Senior Football Championship (1): 1997 * Down Senior Football League Division 1 (1): 1998 Province *

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

(2): 1983 198?

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Paddy 1960 births Living people All-Ireland–winning captains (football) Burren Gaelic footballers Down inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Ulster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)