IRELAND’S dramatic victory over World Cup winners Germany can be directly traced back to the influence of a Killarney sporting legend.
Sub goalkeeper Darren Randolph was hailed a hero for setting up Shane Long for the crucial goal but it would never have happened without the influence of Killarney basketball supremo Paudie O’Connor.
Over 30 years ago he was responsible for introducing top American college basketballers to the Irish game and among them was a promising young star by the name of Ed Randolph.
He went on to become one of the most influential stars in the domestic game and was so successful that he decided the make this country his home.
Last night, 34 years after he first hit the Irish basketball courts, Ed watched on proudly as his son, Darren, inspired the Irish soccer team to one one of the greatest ever triumphs.
Paudie O’Connor, from O’Sullivan’s Place, the former Mayor of Killarney who is now living in Las Vegas, spearheaded an initiative to attract young US players to Ireland in the early 1980s and the project attracted now household names like Jasper McElroy, Jerome Westbrookes, Lenny McMillan, Terry Strickland, Tony Andre and, of course, Randolph.
While Ed spent most of his career with Dublin sides Marian and Killester, he also played with St Paul’s in Killarney for a brief spell.
Then club chairman Christy Sheehan swooped to snap up the towering American to help in the push for league honours in 1993 and Randolph lined out alongside local stars like Pat O’Shea Brian Clarke, Vince Daly, Cormac O’Donoghue and Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan.
