Dublin hero Kevin McManamon pays tribute to late coach who moulded him into All-Ireland winner
'He used to be saying that he wanted Mayo to win and me to win man of the match, that was his dream.'
Kevin McManamon has led the tributes to a stalwart of St Jude’s GAA Club, who he says nurtured him to become an eight-time All-Ireland winner.
The club announced today that Mayo native Padraic Monaghan had died on Monday after a long illness.
Padraic won three county titles with Garrymore in 1979, ‘81 and ‘82 as well as playing in the 1982 All-Ireland club final, which was lost to Cork powerhouse Nemo Rangers.
READ MORE:Eamon O'Shea remains on board as Galway rubberstamp Micheál Donoghue return
READ MORE: Some of the great club dynasties as Ballygunner's Waterford dominance continues
He also captained what is now University of Galway to win the Sigerson Cup in 1980.
He settled in the capital in the early ‘80s with his wife Mary and became involved with the fledgling Jude’s club, which was only formed in 1978, taking underage teams and working his way up to the senior side, which he led to county finals across two different stints.
With him for much of that journey was McManamon, who recalls how he steered him away from soccer in his mid-teens.
“I think I would have stuck with the football in the end but it was the timing of it that I think was something that I really needed,” reflected the former Dublin star.
“I didn’t enjoy the soccer too much. It was something that I needed to hear. If you’re wasting your time trying to do everything… I always had this thing that the more sports you play the better-skilled you are which is true to a point but I think at 15 and 16 he was kind of saying, ‘Listen, this is the one for you’ and he was dead right.
“It wasn’t a selfish thing to help him win titles. He genuinely felt I’d get more out of it as a player as a footballer. I was glad I took his advice.
“I was probably already of the same mindset but he very much nurtured me and my development from 16 to 24 was probably all under his guidance. I was 22 going on 23 when I got called up to Dublin so he passed me on to the powers that be at that stage.”
He also had a novel approach to moulding McManamon into more of a team player.
“I remember in my early days where I was just not able to pass the ball. I was about 18 and I just thought it was the Kev Mc show and he used to have me not allowed to score in training and it used to send me insane but it was a great message for me to become more of a passer, better vision and stuff like that, so he was just getting through to you to improve you and open your eyes as a player.
“He’s been even more of an inspiration with how he dealt with his battle with illness over the last few years.
“He even went back into management a year ago with the juniors and got a great kick out of them and just loved it.”
Of the eight All-Ireland medals that McManamon won, six of them involved Dublin beating Padraic’s native Mayo along the way, including the finals of 2013, ‘16, ‘17 and ‘20, which naturally led to some banter between the pair.
“He used to be saying that he wanted Mayo to win and me to win man of the match, that was his dream. Any Jude’s man he was supporting. There was a bit of craic always, yeah.
“I remember the first couple of finals that I was able to drop in tickets to him, particularly the first one, making sure I’d know where he was sitting and he’s going to this match in 2011 and the same in ‘13 again when we played Mayo. But yeah, there was always that bit of banter.”
He added: “I just loved the man, loved everything he did, I loved the energy he had and I told him that if I was coaching I’d be bringing the same buzz and the same values to coaching as he did to me and I said it before, I don’t think I would have achieved what I achieved with Dublin - I’m sure Dublin would have been alright - but I don’t think I would have been as involved as I was without him.
“He was a great, big role model and extra father figure for me growing up.”
Padraic Monaghan is survived by his wife Mary, son Brian, daughter Fiona, mother Dymphna, daughter-in-law Lauren, grandchildren Finn, Cara and Bran, brothers Tommy, Johnny, Liam and Paul, sisters Eileen, Anne and Dymphna. His funeral Mass will take place on Friday morning in Templeogue.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
