Paddy O'Brien (Gaelic footballer)
Paddy "Hands" O'Brien (1925–2016) was a famous Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a full-back for Meath. He was born in Skryne, County Meath, and learned the game at Skryne National School under teacher Brian Smyth. He began his senior club career with Skryne in 1942 and won two county championships with them; he also played with Seán McDermotts in Dublin, where he captained the club to success in 1947.
O'Brien's inter-county career with Meath started in 1944 in the Leinster League. He played a leading role in a golden era for Meath, earning five Leinster medals (1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1954), two All-Ireland medals (1949, 1954), and two National Football League medals (1946, 1951). Meath were runners-up in the All-Ireland finals in 1951 and 1953.
He also played for the Leinster team in the Railway Cup, winning three medals (1953, 1954, 1955) and captaining Leinster in 1955 when they won the cup. O'Brien retired from inter-county football after the 1955 season.
Widely regarded as one of Gaelic football’s greats, O'Brien was named at full-back on the Gaelic Football Team of the Century (1984) and on the Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium (2000).
Personal notes: O'Brien was born in 1925 in Skryne, Meath, and died on 26 March 2016 in Santry, Dublin, at the age of 91.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:01 (CET).