Paddy Molloy

Legendary Offaly hurler Paddy Molloy looks back on his GAA experiences. As a young boy he played with Drumcullen and possessed a steely determination which saw him put in many hours at home trying to perfect his skills. It paid off in the end as he went on the represent the club at many different levels and was also selected to play for Offaly. They enjoyed many battles with Kilkenny over the years and Paddy was on a team that reached a Leinster final, which was a memorable experience for him. He soon caught the eye of Leinster selectors and made the provincial team, becoming the first Offaly player to win a Railway Cup medal. Paddy also served as a club selector, trainer and chairman. During his time he came into contact with some of hurling’s most famous figures - Christy Ring, Ollie Walsh, Eddie Kerr. There were bad times too - the economic climate was extremely tough as he was growing up without a father, and he was controversially suspended for a significant length of time over an incident that he felt he was not to blame for. But the good outweighed the bad as Paddy enjoyed his time at the coalface of Offaly GAA and marvelled at the county’s hurlers finally landing an All-Ireland title during the period after he had hung up his boots.