Pádraig Walsh (born 12 March 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Kilkenny Senior Championship club

Tullaroan Tullaroan () is a village in the western part of County Kilkenny in the Slieveardagh Hills near the Tipperary border. Tullaroan is also the name of the local civil parish. Sport Tullaroan GAA are the most successful Gaelic Athletic Association ...

and previously at inter-county level with the

Kilkenny senior hurling team The Kilkenny county hurling team represents County Kilkenny, Kilkenny in hurling and is governed by Kilkenny GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inte ...

. He usually lines out as a centre back

Playing career

St. Kieran's College

Walsh first came to prominence as a hurler with

St. Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passing of the Cath ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. He played in every grade of hurling before eventually joining the college's senior hurling team. On 3 March 2010, he lined out at left wing-forward when St. Kieran's College faced Kilkenny CBS in the Leinster final. Walsh scored a 44th-minute goal to secure a 2–14 to 1–10 victory. He was again at left wing-forward for the All-Ireland final against Ardscoil Rís from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. Walsh scored three points from play and collected a winners' medal following the 2–11 to 2–08 victory. The victory gave Walsh an

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 ...

medal.

Tullaroan

Walsh joined the

club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels before joining the club's top adult team. He made his first appearance for the club's senior team on 20 September 2009 in a 1–13 to 0–15 defeat by Graigue-Ballycallan. On 28 October 2018, Walsh lined out in his first decider at adult level when Tullaroan faced Graigue-Ballycallan in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the Kilkenny Intermediate Championship. He scored 1-02, including a 15th-minute penalty, in the 2–16 to 2–13 defeat. On 27 October 2019, Walsh lined out in a second successive

when Tullaoran qualified to play Thomastown. He ended the game with a winners' medal after the 3–18 to 0–21 victory. On 30 November 2019, Walsh claimed a Leinster Club Championship medal after a 2–25 to 2–13 defeat of Seir Kieran in the

Kilkenny

Minor and under-21

Walsh first lined out for

as a member of the minor team during the 2009 Leinster Championship. He was an unused substitute for the entire provincial campaign, however, he collected a Leinster Championship on 5 July following a 1–19 to 0–11 defeat of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in the final. Walsh was again included amongst the substitutes for the All-Ireland final against

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

on 6 September. He was introduced as a 56th-minute substitute for Geoff Brennan in the 2–15 to 2–11 defeat. Walsh was eligible for the minor grade again the following year and established himself as a regular member of the starting fifteen. On 4 July 2010, he won a second successive Leinster Championship medal following a 1–20 to 0–10 defeat of

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 ...

in the final. On 5 September, Walsh was at centre-forward when Galway faced

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

in the All-Ireland final. He was substituted by Paul Holden in the 39th minute but collected a winners' medal following the 2–10 to 0–14 victory. Two years later Walsh was a key member of the Kilkenny under-21 team. He won his sole

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

medal that year following a 4–24 to 1-13 trouncing of

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

. Kilkenny later faced

in the

decider. A powerful second-half display, in which they outscored Kilkenny 1–10 to 0–4, saw Clare take their second ever All-Ireland under-21 crown. On 7 June 2011, Walsh made his first appearance for the Kilkenny under-21 team. After starting the game on the bench, he was introduced as a substitute in the 1–16 to 2–12 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster Championship. On 11 July 2012, Walsh won a Leinster Championship medal from centre-forward after scoring six points in Kilkenny's 4–24 to 1–13 defeat of

in the final. On 15 September, he was again at centre-forward for Kilkenny's 2–17 to 2–11 defeat by Clare in the All-Ireland final. Walsh was moved from the forwards to the right wing-back position for the 2013 Leinster Championship. He made his last appearance in the under-21 grade on 11 July 2013 when Kilkenny suffered a 1–21 to 0–21 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.

Senior

Walsh was added to the Kilkenny senior team as a substitute for their

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

semi-final against Clare on 22 April 2012. He was again included amongst the substitutes for the final against

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

on 6 May. Walsh remained in the bench but collected a winners' medal following the 3–21 to 0–16 victory. He failed to be included on the Kilkenny panel for the Leinster Championship. On 18 March 2013, Walsh made his first competitive appearance at senior level. He was introduced as a 24th-minute substitute for

Jackie Tyrrell Jackie Tyrrell (born 19 June 1982) is an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team spanned fourteen seasons from 2003 to 2016. Born in Kilkenny, Tyrrell was raised in a hurling household. His father, Dermo ...

in a 2–15 to 0–15 defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. He won a second consecutive National League medal as a non-playing substitute on 5 May following Kilkenny's 2–17 to 0–20 defeat of Tipperary in the final. Walsh made his first appearance in the Leinster Championship on 29 June when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for Jackie Tyrrell at right corner-back in a 1–16 to 0–16 defeat by Dublin. On 4 May 2014, Walsh was at midfield when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the National League final. He claimed his third winners' medal - his first on the field of play - following the 2–25 to 1–27 victory. On 6 July, Walsh won a Leinster Championship medal after scoring two points from centre-forward in Kilkenny's 0–24 to 1–09 defeat of Dublin in the final. He was dropped from the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland final against Tipperary on 7 September. He was introduced as a 61st-minute substitute for Joey Holden at left corner-back in the 3–22 to 1–28 draw. Walsh's improved form earned him a place on the starting fifteen at right wing-back for the replay on 27 September. He claimed an

medal following the 2–17 to 2–14 victory. On 5 July 2015, Walsh won a second consecutive Leinster Championship when he lined out at right wing-back in Kilkenny's 1–23 to 2–17 defeat of

in the

. On 6 September, he was again at right wing-back when Kilkenny and Galway renewed their rivalry in the All-Ireland final. Walsh collected a second successive winners' medal following the 1–22 to 1–18 victory. Walsh won a third successive Leinster Championship medal on 3 July 2016. He was in his usual position of right wing-back for the 1–26 to 0–22 defeat of Galway in the

. Kilkenny subsequently qualified for a third successive All-Ireland final on 4 September. Walsh scored two points from right wing-back in the 2–29 to 2–20 defeat by Tipperary. He ended the season by being named in the right wing-back position on the All-Star team. On 8 April 2018, Walsh won a fourth

medal. He was at full-back for the 2–23 to 2–17 defeat of Tipperary in the final. On 1 July, he was again at full-back when Kilkenny drew 0-18 apiece with Galway in the Leinster final. The replay a week later saw Kilkenny suffer a 1–28 to 3–15 defeat. On 30 June 2019, Walsh lined out at left corner-back when Kilkenny suffered a 1–23 to 0–23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final. On 18 August 2019, he was selected at centre-back when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Walsh ended the game on the losing side after a 3–25 to 0–20 defeat. On 16 November 2023, Walsh announced his retirement form inter-county hurling, his reason being to give a few more good years for his club Tullaroan Gaa.

Personal life

Walsh's grandfather was Paddy Grace, a two-time All-Ireland medal-winner with Kilkenny who served as secretary of the Kilkenny County Board for 37 years. His older brother,

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tommy (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army * Tommy Giacomelli (born 1974), Brazilian fo ...

, won nine All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny. His sister, Grace, is an

medal-winner with the Kilkenny senior

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

team.

Career statistics

Honours

;St. Kieran's College * All-Ireland Colleges Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2010 *

Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Post-Primary Schools Senior A Hurling Championship, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in the ...

(1): 2010 ;Tullaroan *

Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship The Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Michael Lyng Motors Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny IHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny GAA, Kilkenny ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship:

All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the second highes ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

;Kilkenny *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hur ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Walsh Cup:

Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Under-20 Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com Leinster GAA Under-20 Hurling Championship), is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic ...

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Individual

;Awards * GAA-GPA All-Star Award: 2016, 2019

References

External links

Pádraig Walsh profile
at the Kilkenny GAA website {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Padraig 1992 births Living people Tullaroan hurlers Kilkenny inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners 21st-century Irish sportsmen