Paddy Prendergast

Paddy Prendergast (Patrick Prendergast, 1926 to 26 September 2021) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who usually lined out as a full-back. Born in Ballintubber in County Mayo, he joined the Garda Siochana and was posted to Dungloe in the Rosses in west County Donegal in 1946, where he played for the local club and was called up to the Donegal senior football team. He declared for his native Mayo in 1948, and his first season ended in an All-Ireland final defeat by Cavan but brought the first of four consecutive Connacht Championship titles. At full-back he won back-to-back All-Ireland Senior Football Championship titles with Mayo, beating Louth in the 1950 final and Meath in the 1951 final, and he stayed with the team until 1956, adding a fifth Connacht title and two National League titles. He was also a Railway Cup winner with Connacht. He spent his working life in the Garda Siochana and settled in Tralee, County Kerry, where he died on 26 September 2021, aged 95, the last surviving member of Mayo's starting fifteen in the 1951 final.