FOOTBALL IMMORTAL THE IRON MAN FROM RHODE PADDY McCORMACK To many GAA supporters Paddy McCormack will be remembered as the towering full-back who made life a misery for opposing forwards. It was in the number three jersey the "Iron Man from Rhode" won two All-Ireland medals ('71 and '72) and an All-Star Award ('72). Yet he started his career as a corner forward and went on to fill every position on the Offaly team - including goalkeeper. As a full back Paddy was from the old school, tough, dependable, patrolling the area in front of his own goals and rarely moving outside it. He was part of the first Offaly team to reach an All-Ireland and played a huge part in taking his county from obscurity to the top of the footballing tree. After two years as a Minor, McCormack made his Senior Championship debut for Offaly in 1958. "I came on as a sub and scored a goal and a point from the corner forward position. It was the last game referred by Peter McDermott, the great Meath player. We beat Kildare on a wet Sunday, it was a great win for us." Within two years McCormack's career as a defender was underway. "I started playing in the backs by accident. I was one of the substitutes when we played Carlow in the Leinster Championship and we had a few injuries. Fr Doran who was over the team asked me would I go in at corner back and I had a stormer. In the next game I kept my place. We were playing Dublin and I was marking Kevin Hefferman which was a real test. Dublin had beaten Longford by 10-14 to 3-9 in the first game but we put in a great performance to win by nine points," recalls the well known Tullamore publican. For the following ten years, Paddy formed a formidable full back line along with John Egan and Greg Hughes, occasionally filling in elsewhere in the team when the need arose. In 1961 the young Rhode man played in front of 90,556 people as Offaly lost out to Down in the All-Ireland final. By the time Offaly reached another All-Ireland decider in 1971 Paddy had made the switch from corner to full back. Ironically it was a change he made only reluctantly. "I didn't make a permanent move to full back until 1971. I was used to playing in the corner and I didn't particularly like playing at full-back all that much. It was a very different position. If anybody gets past the full back, it is curtains, it is almost a certain goal - so you have to play in a different way. When Mick Ryan, Mick O'Rourke and myself started playing in the full-back line in '71 we were considered one of the weakest lines on the team but by the end of the year we had formed a great understanding and any forward who scored against us had to work for his score." The following year Offaly swept to another All-Ireland title, defeating Kerry in the final and while McCormack was delighted to pick up his second winners medal he feels the team had the potential to complete the three in a row. "I certainly believe we could have won another title, we were good enough. We had a great bunch of lads, very dedicated. I had received a bad injury to the eye and I was a sub in '74 when we lost by a point to Dublin. I was the oldest player on the panel and I think my experience could have proved useful." McCormack, who also won four county titles with Rhode, remains deeply passionate about Offaly football and is quietly optimistic about the county's prospects despite the current position. "The Offaly football team is not as bad as it is painted out to be. When you are playing in the Fourth Division it is very hard to improve your standards of play, you have to be playing against the top teams. If they put their heads down and put the effort in they could get themselves into a higher division and do well in the Championship. The talent is definitely there. Next summer Meath play Offaly and nobody is giving us a chance but if the panel of twenty players or so put in the effort there could be a surprise." Over the past twenty five years Paddy feels the role of the Full-back has changed. "In my time if you played at full-back you had your own area to play in and you stayed within the area. Now the number three can run all over the pitch. It is now all a running game where athleticism is all important. The days of the catch and kick are gone, a lot of the old skills are gone out the game," he says. The famed "Iron Man from Rhode" christened so by Micheal O'Hehir, enjoyed a long and fruitful career and remains one of the best loved folk heroes from the glory days of Offaly football. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 9th December, 1994 Tweet

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