Paddy Coad was born in Waterford on the 14th of April 1920 and sadly passed away on the 8th of March 1992 at the age of 71.

Coad won just eleven international caps, scored three goals but also found fame in the domestic game. A wing-half in the old W formations of those days, he was a gifted striker of the ball as his record of 41 FAI Cup goals proved.
He scored for Ireland in a memorable 3-2 over Spain in front of over 42,000 fans at Dalymount Park while against Portugal at the same venue in May 1949, Coad scored the only goal of the game when firing home a 35th-minute penalty to record Ireland's first win in six games.

It wasn't easy in those days with so many players operating for their clubs in England on a Saturday and then catching the ferry to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire the following day and turning out for their country within 24 hours.

Coad then had the distinction of scoring Ireland's winner in the 3-2 victory over Norway at the Ullevaal Stadium in Norway on May 30 1951, hitting a sublime 82nd-minute strike from 20 yards that hit the top corner of the net giving 'keeper Erik Kihle no chance.

Coad was to win his eleventh and final cap in a crushing 6-0 defeat by Spain in front of 75,000 spectators at Madrid's Chamartin Stadium on June 1, 1952. But even that sad end could not diminish a career of excellence, achievement, and entertainment to so many real football lovers.

Coad is today regarded, not only as the greatest Shamrock Rovers player of all time but as the greatest League of Ireland player of all time.

He was the mastermind behind the famous Shamrock Rovers team of the 1950s that became known as The Coad's Colts. That team is regarded by many as the greatest ever League of Ireland side.