Paddy Cullen: The making of the modern goalkeeper

Con Houlihan described Paddy Cullen as a modern goalkeeper - "he guards not only the goal but its forecourt".

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025 - 11:48

Maurice Brosnan

Look at the save again. 14 seconds before Liam Sammon struck that famous penalty and Paddy Cullen’s outstretched hand pointed Dublin towards a golden era, the goal was completely empty.

This was calculated. Cullen had a habit of doing this. The three-time All-Ireland winner put thought into every element of his craft. That 1974 triumph over Galway could not have happened without a delicate combination of passion and spirit and bold acumen.

“I had this thing of standing on the post,” Cullen told Laochra Gael much later.

“So, when a fella puts the ball down and he looks up, he doesn’t see anyone except a big, wide space in front of him. Then he goes back and turns around and sees a big fella standing in the middle.”

He entered from the left post. He dived to the right. In the dressing room post-match, he cried for 45 minutes. Liam Hayes’ remarkable biography of Kevin Heffernan recalled how Cullen would point at passing planes in Parnell Park and promise his adjacent team-mates, ‘that will be us.’

He had been an All-Star replacement the previous year. The dream was the glory and honour of an All-Ireland title. Cullen helped them realise it. Born and bred in the north inner city, the legend was named Man of the Match.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner’s Madness of Football series, Robbie Kelleher outlined what that win did for the county.

“I do think (we) fundamentally changed Gaelic football,” he said.

“Go back to the early 1970s when I was playing at first, Gaelic football was seen as a kind of ignorant game in Dublin. A game culchies played.

“I remember well a guy I knew who was a teacher in Joey’s school in Fairview, he went into a class in 1972 and said can anyone name a player on the Dublin football team? Not one guy in the class could name one. They could give you Leeds United reserves, never mind the first team.

“When we played National League in Croke Park, they didn’t open the Hill. They didn’t open the Canal End. They didn’t open the Cusack Stand. I remember we played Cork in Croke Park with about 200 people around the Ard Chomhairle. That was it. When we arrived in 1974, we grabbed the attention of the city.”

Con Houlihan’s immortal words on Mike Sheehy’s goal in the 1978 final are the most quoted but the sportswriter paid due tribute to the goalkeeper too: “Cullen is a ‘modern’ keeper – he guards not only the goal but its forecourt.” The O’Connell Boys clubman bossed his square, he claimed balls that were lofted in and carried them out the field too.

For O’Connell Boys, Cullen played centre half-back and midfield. He was a half-back for Dublin at U21 level. He was on record as having said being between the posts was a pain. In some ways, the number one had to keep himself amused. Cullen could do that by getting on the ball. He would shout at the defenders in front of him so everyone stayed switched on. During the height of his inter-county career, he continued to play out the field with his club.

This pathway has become well-worn by goalkeepers and that should come as no surprise. Gaelic football is endlessly repeating itself, identifying what works and evolving it further. Kerry and Dublin’s epic meeting in 1977 is legendary for several reasons. Corner-backs drove forward and took shots. Half-forwards retreated deep. Long balls and high fielding were key parts of their game plan. They ruled midfield that day, but Cullen also went short with five kickouts. They were the trailblazers.

That was his final Celtic Cross, though he continued to be an example for aspiring goalkeepers. How did he bounce back from Sheehy’s goal? By back-boning Dublin’s return to a final 12 months later and winning another All-Star. The keepers kept coming. John O’Leary took over from his hero Paddy and paved the way for Stephen Cluxton. In 2017, Cullen had an idea. There were five Dublin goalkeepers who had played on All-Ireland teams from 1958 on. Paddy O’Flaherty, Paschal Flynn, O’Leary and Cluxton. He made the calls, they met a photographer and gathered in front of Hill 16 for an iconic picture.

Once when O’Leary was asked to pick a 15 from the players he played with and the current generation, he said it was easy to pick a goalkeeper: Cullen.

Cullen’s deep understanding never wilted. He managed his county from 1990 to 1992. In 2019, he proposed a ban on the goalkeeper back pass, six years before the Football Review Committee would trial their own version. At the end of that Laochra Gael tribute, Cullen was asked about his legacy.

“I would like to be remembered for contributing to the game,” he replied.

Mission accomplished.