Player Articles

Paddy Mulligan

Paddy Mulligan

Patrick Martin Mulligan, born Dublin, Ireland, March 17, 1945. Paddy Mulligan provided sterling playing service to Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Boston Rovers, Boston Beacons, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Shamrock Rovers, and Galway United during a playing career which lasted from 1963 to 1984. Mulligan also represented the Republic of Ireland, winning 50 full caps for his nation between 1969 and 1979.

Paddy Mulligan initiated his footballing career with his local club Bohemians before he decided to move on to neighbouring Shamrock Rovers where he won the FAI Cup in 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1969. After loan periods with Boston Rovers and Boston Beacons in the United States, Mulligan was transferred to high flying English First Division side Chelsea for a fee of around £17,500 at the front end of the 1969-70 season. He made his first League appearance for his new employers in a 3-1 victory against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on the 20th of December 1969, and he was part of the now legendary team that won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. He was also in the Chelsea side that were narrowly defeated 2-1 by Stoke City at Wembley Stadium in the League Cup Final in 1972. The Dubliner would play 58 First Division matches for The Blues before the wholehearted defender joined forces with London neighbours Crystal Palace for transfer fee estimated to be somewhere in the region of £75,000 partly into the 1972-73 campaign.

Arguably, Paddy Mulligan played one of his finest games ever in an unforgettable 5-0 First Division triumph against Frank O´Farrell´s Manchester United at Selhurst Park on the 16th of December 1972. Following eleven minutes of action, the South London team went ahead as Don Rogers fed a through pass to the onrushing Paddy Mulligan who placed the ball between away goalkeeper Alex Stepney and the near post. Then, only a couple of minutes before the sound of the half time whistle, the irrepressible Mulligan received another pass from Rogers and curled the ball past the hapless Stepney and into the back of the net. After the break, Rogers gave Crystal Palace a three goal lead when he latched on to an excellent pass from Alan Whittle and rounded the goalkeeper to put the ball into the empty net on 47 minutes. Not so long later, Whittle finally managed to get on the scoring sheet himself when he notched up the fourth goal of the clash with a brilliant effort which gave Stepney no chance to save, and with as little as three minutes left of the fixture, Rogers completed his brace to ensure a comprehensive 5–0 victory against the visitors from Manchester.

Despite having a good team on paper, the 1972-73 season ended in disappointment as Crystal Palace were relegated from the top tier of English football together with West Bromwich Albion, and another relegation followed in 1973-74. After clocking up 57 Football League appearances for Crystal Palace, who now found themselves in the Third Division, Mulligan was persuaded to sign with none other than Second Division club West Bromwich, who had appointed previous Manchester United and Leeds United midfield orchestrator Johnny Giles as player-coach at the beginning of the 1975-76 campaign. At The Hawthorns, he would play alongside good and solid professionals like Tony Brown, Len Cantello, Mick Martin, Alistair Robertson, and John Wile, and he settled down immediately. The Irishman also became an instant favourite with the West Brom faithful, and he was a vital part of the Albion team that won promotion to the First Division alongside Second Division Champions Sunderland and runners-up Bristol City the following year.

The seasoned campaigner would go on to accumulate a respectable 109 Football League appearances for West Bromwich before he was deemed surplus to requirements by larger than life character Ron Atkinson at the end of the 1978-79 campaign. The right fullback thereafter returned to his native Ireland to play for first Shamrock Rovers, and then Galway United. On the international stage, Paddy Mulligan played 50 times for the Republic of Ireland after being handed his full debut by head coach Charlie Hurley in a narrow 2-1 World Cup Qualifier defeat against Czechoslovakia in front of an audience of more than 32,000 spectators at Dalymount Park in Dublin on the 4th of May 1969. Mulligan´s last appearance for the country of his birth came when he entered the field as a second half replacement for Leeds United flankman Jeff Chandler in a 3-2 international friendly match victory against USA at Dalymount Park on the 29th of October 1979. Paddy Mulligan Playing Career: Shamrock Rovers, Boston Rovers, Boston Beacons, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Shamrock Rovers, Galway United. Managing Career: Galway United, Shelbourne.