Pat Dunney...one of Kildare's greats and he has the medals to prove it

Neither Raheens nor Éire Óg-Corrachoill have seen the same level of success since Pat Dunney was around, and how could they really?

The presence of such a figure drove both of the area's teams to unprecedented success in the years that he took to the field. Pat’s long and illustrious playing career saw him pick up an astounding 17 county winner’s medals; seven SFC and ten SHC.

Few players from Kildare have ever earned the reputation that Pat Dunney has. Many see him as part of three oft mentioned candidates for the greatest Kildare player of all-time. Dunney, Doyle and Ryan, but that’s a chat for another day.

A testament to his longevity as well as talent is that Pat’s two most treasured moments when reflecting on his career came 17 years apart.

First up of the two was 1964, as Raheens and Éire Óg swept the county.
“That was something special. It was unbelievable for such a small little place to win the two. The hurling club wasn’t that long going and it was hard to come to terms with the fact that we did that,” Pat said.

“I wasn’t sure we could do either of them. We played Clane and they had won four (championships) and they were expected to win it again. Expectations weren’t high, we were hoping as much as anything that we could pull it out.”

And they did.

The upset of Clane was first up as Raheens toppled the Kildare SFC title-holders 3-10 to 1-9. There would be a couple of weeks break then before Pat lined up again for the hurling final as Éire Óg faced Athy. It would go their way once again as Pat’s side hit 5-9 to Athy’s 2-6 to claim an unprecedented double for the two clubs.

“I would have been young enough then, I didn’t drink and never have, but I’d say there was very little done down around the place for a full week after the hurling final,” Pat recalled.

Before jumping 17 years forward to more club glory, it is impossible to ignore the unparalleled success of the Kildare hurlers during Pat’s time with The Lilywhites.

Pat was a part of a special period of Kildare hurling as they enjoyed previously unseen success. The Kildare hurling team won the Junior All-Ireland in 1962 and ’66. They would improve again to an Intermediate All-Ireland in 1968 and then the peak of it all came as they claimed a Senior 'B' All-Ireland title in ‘74.

Despite the groundbreaking success in those decades, Pat refers to his time on the administrative side of Kildare as to what has given the most satisfaction as the years have gone by.

“People gave their time for me when I was young so that I could play,” Pat explained, adding “so I said maybe I should give a bit of my free time so that somebody else can get the benefit of it. It is great to be involved and to see all the young people coming through that have won underrage competitions for Kildare and great to be able to say that I contributed a small part of it.”

Leinster medals evaded Pat Dunney when it came to county football and had long since done the same on the club side of things. A Kildare club had never won a Leinster Senior Club Football title, until 1981 and at aged 36, Pat Dunney felt he had his crowning moment.

“That was great, that was unbelievable for the club. It was even better that we won in Athy, in Kildare. That one was sweet I must confess. Our small little place against one of the best teams in the country at the time. It was sweet,” Pat smiled.
Raheens beat Portlaoise 1-7 to 0-6 to claim Leinster glory, and it hadn’t half been a long road to get there for the club.

Pat said, “Our expectations weren’t great going down to play it. We had played four matches against Navan O’Mahonys, we had three replays and then we beat them in Newbridge eventually.

“Portlaoise had six of the Laois seniors on their team and they weren’t bad footballers at all. It was one of these days everything went well for us, but we played really well throughout the whole team. It was nice to finish that way, coming to the tail end of a career. There weren't that many years after that.”

Pat’s talent is seemingly only matched by his humility, interviewing the dual-star is like sparring a boxing veteran as you seek to get an insight into his greatness and he evades to discuss the brilliance of those he played with.

Unfortunately for Pat and his desire to play down his own great talent, the Railway Cup titles are what gives it all away. The provincial teams in football and hurling that were full to the brim with all the respective county stars facing off. At the end of these superstar games were winning medals that were highly coveted in the years that they were competed for.

“For me that was brilliant, football and hurling. In football, we had been there or thereabouts with Kildare in Leinster finals and it was marvellous to be playing with the players from all the other counties and against the ones from the other provinces. It was something nice,” Pat said.

Pat wasn’t just along for the ride either and claimed four Railway Cup Hurling medals and one in football. A feat that inserted him into extremely elite company as one of the very few to pick up a medal in both codes. Both on account of the two finals being on the same day and very few being good enough to justify a dual spot.

“The hurling was particularly good because you were playing with Kilkenny lads or Wexford fellas and then playing against top players from the likes of Cork and Limerick, players that you would have only heard about,” Pat recalled.

“It was no big thing on television, you would just hear these names on the radio. Christy Ring and hearing how he’s described and you think he must be God and 25-foot tall. You had a heap of those types of people, Jimmy Barry Murphy too. They were just names you heard and then to actually see them play, play against them and meet them, that was really good. I felt really lucky to have been able to do it.”

Pat regularly earned a place in both the hurling and football sides, which tells its own story of the esteem that he was held in the national game. No matter how much he will try to tell you it was a “sympathy job.”

“The Leinster team I played in had Eddie Keher, Mick Jacob, Tony Doran, they were all playing and they were superstars in their own county at that time. Then facing off against Limerick’s Pat Hartigan, Ray Cummins and the ones that I have mentioned, these were all legends from around the country. If you didn’t have a television and you were just listening to the radio, you would visualise these fellas as enormous figures. It was an honour to play with and against those players.”

In his praise of the legends that he was selected alongside, Pat had finally made a mistake in his humility, and so I asked, would that not make you the Kildare superstar?

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” he laughed.

Trying to catch out the great man was of course nothing more than a friendly exchange, but whether Pat would ever tell you himself or not, there are plenty that would talk you through the man’s distinct talent.

Praise for Pat Dunney starts at home in Raheens, but will stretch as far as anyone that saw him play in this country.

The Leinster Leader will be doing a feature article from every club in Kildare as part of the Love of the Game series.
If you have a suggestion for someone from your club, a legendary player, selfless volunteer or an idea of your own, send them to daragh.nolan@leinsterleader.ie