Paddy Reid

Patrick Joseph Reid (17 March 1923 – 8 January 2016) was an Irish dual-code rugby centre. Reid played club rugby under the rugby union code for Garryowen, and played international rugby for Ireland, and was part of the Grand Slam winning team of 1948. The following season, he switched codes, joining professional rugby league club Huddersfield, before ending his league career with Halifax.

Rugby union Reid came to note as a rugby player when he represented Garryowen in the 1940s; playing his first game against University College, Galway. In 1947 he won his first international cap, when he was selected to face Australia on their 1947–48 tour. The Irish team started the match with eight new caps, and Reid was partnered with Kevin Joseph Quinn at centre, the only player with any past international experience in the three-quarter positions. Australia were far too strong for Ireland, beating them 16–3.

Despite the loss, the Irish selectors kept faith with Reid and he returned into the Ireland team for the opening game of the 1948 Five Nations Championship. After the defeat by Australia there was little to suggest the Irish would have a successful season, though the campaign started well with a victory over France in Paris. It was a good game for Reid, as he also scored his first and only international points, running the ball under the posts after a tactical line-out. a feat the national team would not repeat until 2009.

The Irish team were carried from the ground by their supporters, and after a celebration dinner the team members went their own way. Reid, Daly and Des O'Brien went to a dance after the game, and spent the night in police custody after some "high jinks" with an Orange flute band.

Rugby league At the end of the 1947/48 season, Reid made an economic decision to switch codes to professional rugby league. He originally joined English team Huddersfield, along with Triple Crown-winning teammate John "Jack" Daly, but after a few months, Reid switched clubs to Halifax. In 1949, he was part of the Halifax team that reached the Challenge Cup final, losing at Wembley to Bradford. Although Reid returned to Ireland just three years after leaving, any switch to league ended in lifetime bans from the union game. Despite this, Reid continued to coach in Ireland behind the scenes. He died on 8 January 2016 in Limerick.