Padraig Faulkner (Gaelic footballer)

Padraig Faulkner

Personal information
Irish name	Pádraig Ó Fachtna
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Full back
Born	1994 (age 29–30)
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Occupation	Primary school teacher [1]
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Kingscourt Stars
Club titles
Cavan titles	1
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
2016–	Cavan
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles	1
All Stars	1

Padraig Faulkner (born 1994) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays as a full back for Kingscourt Stars and the Cavan county team.

Playing career

Club

Faulkner joined the Kingscourt Stars club at a young age. Kingscourt amalgamated with Shercock for the 2011 Minor championship, and reached the final against Cavan Gaels. Faulkner was in the half-back line as the amalgamation won the final by six points. ^[2]

Faulkner later joined the club's senior team. On 30 September 2012, Faulkner started at corner back against Mullahoran in his first county final, which ended in a draw. ^[3] Faulkner kept his position for the replay on 7 October 2012. Faulkner scored a point from play but Kingscourt fell to a 1–8 to 0–7 defeat. ^[4] Kingscourt returned to the county final again in 2014, facing Cavan Gaels on 12 October. Faulkner started the match at centre back, but was sent off in the 12th minute. Kingscourt played on with 14 men, but a last-minute Micheál Lyng point helped the Gaels to a one-point win. ^[5] On 11 October 2015, Faulkner played at full back as Kingscourt were in the county final once again, this time against Castlerahan. Kingscourt won the match by 1–9 to 0–11; it was Faulkner's first championship medal. ^[6]

Faulkner was forced off injured in Kingscourt's semi-final victory over Cavan Gaels in 2020. ^[7] Despite his injury, he recovered to captain Kingscourt in the final against Crosserlough on 26 September. Faulkner scored a goal in the first half and Kingscourt were in front late on, but Crosserlough equalised to send the game to a replay. ^[8] Faulkner played in the replay as Kingscourt lost the final by 0–13 to 0–8. ^[9] Kingscourt next contested the county final in 2023, facing defending champions Gowna. Faulkner opened the scoring, but Gowna took over the match and went on to win the final by seventeen points. ^[10]

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

Faulkner first represented Cavan at minor level and was on the panel in 2011. Cavan beat Armagh in the Ulster final, ^[11] but Faulkner didn't feature in the match through injury.

Faulkner later joined the under-21 team in 2014. On 9 April, Faulkner started in the Ulster final against Donegal. Cavan were winners on a 2–6 to 0–8 scoreline. ^[12] Faulkner later played in Cavan's one-point All-Ireland semi-final defeat to eventual winners Dublin. ^[13] Faulkner's under-age career with Cavan came to an end in 2015, losing to Donegal in the first round. ^[14]

Senior

Faulkner joined the Cavan senior squad ahead of the 2016 season, and made his National League debut on 31 January in a loss to Tyrone. ^[15] Faulkner kept his place for the rest of the league as Cavan were promoted to Division 1. ^[16] Faulkner played in the Division 2 final against Tyrone, as Cavan suffered a five-point defeat. ^[17] Faulkner made his championship debut on 29 May, starting at corner back in an Ulster quarter-final win over Armagh. ^[18]

On 1 April 2018, Faulkner was at full back for the Division 2 final against Roscommon. Faulkner scored a point as Roscommon won a high-scoring game. ^[19] In the 2019 championship, Cavan reached the Ulster final for the first time in 18 years. ^[20] On 23 June, Faulkner started at full back in the Ulster final against Donegal. Donegal were 1–24 to 2–16 winners. ^[21]

On 22 November 2020, Cavan met Donegal in the Ulster final for the second year in a row. Faulkner lined out at full back as Cavan bridged a 23-year gap with a four-point win. ^[22] Cavan's championship came to an end against Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final. ^[23] Faulkner was named at full back on the All Star team for his performances in the championship. ^{[24] [25]}

On 2 April 2022, Faulkner was at full back as Cavan faced Tipperary in the National League Division 4 final. Faulkner scored a point from play in Cavan's 2–10 to 0–15 victory. ^[26] On 5 June, Faulkner scored a goal in Cavan's comfortable Tailteann Cup quarter-final win over Fermanagh. ^[27] Faulkner started the final against Westmeath on 9 July. Faulkner scored a second-half goal to put Cavan ahead, but Westmeath finished the match strongly and ended up four-point winners. ^[28]

Cavan played in their second successive league final in 2023, facing Fermanagh in the Division 3 decider. Faulkner played the full game as Cavan secured their second successive league title; ^[29] it was also Faulkner's 100th game for Cavan. ^[30] Cavan's season ended with a Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat to Down. ^[31] At the end of the season, Faulkner was named on the Tailteann Cup Team of the Year. ^[32]

Ahead of the 2024 season, Cavan manager Raymond Galligan appointed Faulkner as joint-captain of the Cavan senior team, along with Ciarán Brady. ^[33]

Honours

Cavan

• Ulster Senior Football Championship: 2020
• National Football League Division 3: 2023
• National Football League Division 4: 2022
• Ulster Under-21 Football Championship: 2014
• Ulster Minor Football Championship: 2011

Kingscourt Stars

• Cavan Senior Football Championship: 2015

O'Raghallaigh Gaels

• Cavan Minor Football Championship: 2011

Individual

• All Star Award: 2020
• Tailteann Cup Team of the Year: 2023
• Irish News Ulster All-Star: 2020 ^[34]
• Gaelic Life Cavan Club Footballer of the Year: 2020 ^[35]
• Ulster GAA Writers' Association merit award: April 2016 ^[36]

References

1. Fitzpatrick, Paul (26 March 2020). "'I try to lead in how I train and how I play'". The Anglo-Celt . Retrieved 29 October 2023.
2. "MFC final: O'Raghallaigh Gaels deliver title". Hogan Stand . 11 September 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
3. Corrigan, Shane (30 September 2012). "Cavan SFC final: Late O'Reilly free denies Kingscourt". Hogan Stand . Retrieved 30 September 2012.
4. Corrigan, Shane (8 October 2012). "Cavan SFC final replay: Brady strike sinks Stars". Hogan Stand . Retrieved 9 October 2012.
5. "Lyng seals the deal to leave Kingscourt seeing stars". Irish Independent . 12 October 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
6. Corrigan, Shane (11 October 2015). "Cavan SFC final: Stars secure 11th title". Hogan Stand . Retrieved 12 October 2015.
7. Fitzpatrick, Paul (21 September 2020). "Stars and Crosserlough to vie for senior title". The Anglo-Celt . Retrieved 12 February 2021.
8. Fitzpatrick, Paul (26 September 2020). "Crosserlough force Cavan final replay with late equaliser". RTÉ . Retrieved 3 October 2020.
9. Fitzpatrick, Paul (3 October 2020). "Crosserlough bridge 48-year gap in Cavan replay victory over Kingscourt". RTÉ . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
10. Roche, Frank (22 October 2023). "Cavan SFC final: First-half blitz ensures Gowna reclaim county crown". Irish Independent . Retrieved 22 October 2023.
11. "Ulster MFC: Cavan stun Armagh to end 37-year wait". Hogan Stand . 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
12. Bannon, Orla (9 April 2014). "Cavan seal a fourth successive Ulster U21 football title as they see off Donegal". The 42 . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
13. Farrell, Sean (19 April 2014). "McHugh helps Dublin squeak past resolute Cavan and into All-Ireland final". The 42 . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
14. Foley, Alan (19 March 2015). "Donegal deliver as Cavan stunned by McHugh's late goal". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
15. Mooney, Francis (31 January 2016). "Tyrone triumphant over a despondent Cavan". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 19 October 2023.
16. Fitzpatrick, Paul (3 April 2016). "Cavan back in the top flight after beating Galway". RTÉ . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
17. Keane, Paul (24 April 2016). "Tyrone see off Cavan for silverware". RTÉ . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
18. Mooney, Francis (19 May 2016). "Cavan comfortably ease past Armagh challenge". RTÉ . Retrieved 11 February 2021.
19. O'Brien, Kevin (1 April 2018). "Roscommon lift Division 2 title with win over Cavan in eight-goal thriller". The 42 . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
20. Bogue, Declan (9 June 2019). "Cavan end 18-year wait for Ulster final after pulsating replay win over Armagh". The 42 . Retrieved 11 February 2021.
21. Bogue, Declan (23 June 2019). "Clinical Donegal dispatch Cavan to go back-to-back in Ulster". The 42 . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
22. Mooney, Francis (22 November 2020). "Cavan shock Donegal to claim Ulster title". RTÉ . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
23. Neville, Conor (5 December 2020). "Dublin beat Cavan at a canter to reach another final". RTÉ . Retrieved 21 January 2021.
24. "2020 PwC All-Stars Football nominations announced". Gaelic Athletic Association . 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
25. "Cavan trio recognised as Dublin dominate All-Stars". RTÉ . 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
26. Fitzpatrick, Paul (2 April 2022). "Cavan crowned Division 4 champions after edging out Tipperary". RTÉ . Retrieved 2 April 2022.
27. McLaughlin, Gerry (5 June 2022). "Cavan outmuscle Fermanagh to book semi-final spot in Tailteann Cup". RTÉ . Retrieved 16 August 2022.
28. O'Brien, Kevin (9 July 2022). "Westmeath crowned inaugural Tailteann Cup champions after late flurry against Cavan". The 42 . Retrieved 11 July 2022.
29. Keane, Paul (1 April 2023). "Cavan secure Fermanagh revenge and back-to-back league crowns". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 1 April 2023.
30. Donohoe, Damien (6 April 2023). "Faulkner celebrates century with league final success". The Anglo-Celt . Retrieved 29 October 2023.
31. Fitzpatrick, Paul (17 June 2023). "Down deliver against Cavan to reach Tailteann Cup semi-finals". RTÉ . Retrieved 17 June 2023.
32. "Tailteann Cup Team of the Year announced". Gaelic Athletic Association . 26 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
33. "Cavan appoint joint-captains as Galligan reveals first League selection". Hogan Stand . 26 January 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
34. "Previous Ulster All-Star Winners". The Irish News . Retrieved 10 December 2024.
35. "Cavan – All Star Winners 2020". Gaelic Life . 4 February 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
36. "Faulkner lifts Quinn Building Products monthly award". Hogan Stand . 13 May 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Raymond Galligan	Cavan Senior Football joint-captain 2024– With: Ciarán Brady	Succeeded by Incumbent