Paddy Kavanagh

Paddy Kavanagh was originally selected for the Ireland five-man Ireland swimming and diving team for the 1948 Olympic Games but from the moment they arrived in London, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) was embroiled in Olympic politics. Because Liam Jones and Ernie McCartney were both born in Belfast (Northern Ireland), they were told by both the world governing body (FINA) and the IOC that they could not compete for Ireland (Southern Ireland). As a result, the entire Irish swimming and diving squad withdrew in solidarity.

Kavanagh came from a sporting family and started swimming for Dublin Swimming Club at the age of 11. He was later coached by diver Eddie Heron and set a precedence by training all year, not just in the “swimming season”.

A 100 yards freestyle specialist, Kavanagh won his first his Irish title as a member of Sandycove Swimming Club in 1949, and between then and 1954 won the title five times in six years. Also in 1954, he set an Irish 100 yards record of 1:02.2 that was not broken for nearly ten years. Kavanagh also played water polo and, along with his brother Ronnie, was in the Sandycove team that won the 1949 Irish Championship. Paddy also made his international début that year. Kavanagh retired from competitive swimming in 1956, but continued with his other sporting passion of rugby, which he started playing at Blackrock College. He helped them win the Leinster Schools Senior Cup in 1948 before going to University College Dublin (UCD). Kavanagh went on to play for Leinster and in 1952 won the first of two Ireland international caps, against England at Twickenham. He won his other cap against Wales at Cardiff in 1955. Paddy toured Chile and Argentina with Ireland in 1952, when his brother Ronnie was also in the Irish squad. Paddy also had the honour of playing for the Barbarians on three occasions during their 1952 and 1953 tours of Wales. Kavanagh’s daughter Michelle was an outstanding Leinster junior freestyle swimmer who was considered a possible for the 1976 Montréal Olympics.