Paddy Fenning
Offaly Gaelic footballer (1950–2020)
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Patrick Fenning (25 June 1950 – 15 May 2020) was an Irish Gaelic footballer. At club level he had success with Tullamore and was a two-time All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner with the Offaly county team.[1]
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| Born | 25 June 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 15 May 2020 (aged 69) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Sales manager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Gaelic football | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left corner-forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 18:41, 15 May 2020. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career
Fenning's inter-county career with Offaly began at underage level and saw him claim Leinster Under-21 Championship medals in 1968 and 1971. He made his senior debut in 1970 in a tournament game played at Wembley Stadium and won his first All-Ireland Championship the following year after coming on as a substitute in the final against Galway. Fenning claimed a second successive winners' medal in 1972 after scoring a goal from 50 yards in the All-Ireland final replay defeat of Kerry. Fenning's 11-season career with the Offaly senior team ended after an All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kerry in 1980, by which stage he had made a combined total of 91 League and Championship appearances and also claimed four Leinster Championships. He was also selected for the Leinster inter-provincial team, claiming a Railway Cup medal in 1974, and won county senior championship medals in 1973 and 1977 with Tullamore.[2]
Late life and death
In retirement from playing, Fenning became heavily involved in fund-raising for local causes. He was named Offaly Person of the Year in 2011 in recognition of his management of a number of projects, among them helping erase the debt on Tullamore's GAA social centre; raising €200,000 to purchase a CT scanner for the local hospital as well as supporting an arts centre and municipally owned swimming pool in Tullamore.[citation needed]
Fenning died aged 69 on 15 May 2020, having been diagnosed with motor neuron disease the previous year.[3][4] He was survived by his wife Kathryn and two children.[citation needed]
Honours
- Tullamore
- Offaly Senior Football Championship (2): 1973, 1977
- Offaly
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2): 1971, 1972
- Leinster Senior Football Championship (4): 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980
- Leinster Under-21 Football Championship (2): 1968, 1971
- Leinster
- Railway Cup (1): 1974