athlete’s sporting life. As he walked around the arena and acknowledged the applause he knew he was within touching distance of winning a medal.
An All-Ireland athletic champion, an Irish international and an Olympian, he was one of the most gifted sportsmen to emerge from Ireland in the twentieth century. Yet, over a hundred years on, he remains largely hidden from the history of Irish sport, a forgotten figure whose life was prematurely taken. His story is all the more remarkable because his athletic prowess was discovered by chance, and as an athlete he carried his talent easily and modestly.
Patrick Joseph Roche was born in 1886 and lived with his parents William and Ellen Roche in Cork. Known all his life simply as Paddy, he was a very active child who enjoyed the outdoor life, and like young boys of his age he had his share of accidents. One day he fell from a horse and badly damaged his left arm, an injury that would stay with him all his life. This did not stop him from enjoying most sports, particularly Gaelic football.Tall, and with powerful legs, he had a great turn of pace and was easily the fastest runner amongst his peers. While he was still at school and playing Gaelic football for a local team he was spotted and encouraged to join Knockrea Athletic Club. The club had a nationwide reputation for producing good athletes, and their runners would often dominate race meetings across Munster. Officials from the club wanted to see how fast young Roche could run, so one evening in 1905 they tempted him away from playing Gaelic football and organised a trial race.
The teenager was pitted against Paddy Kavanagh, who had originally spotted Roche’s potential when he watched him play Gaelic football as a half-forward. A student at Queen’s College in Cork (University College Cork), Kavanagh was an experienced runner and the captain of the Knockrea club. The challenge was supervised by Jim Connolly, who was another stalwart of the club, and he, like his friend Paddy Kavanagh, was keen to see what kind of speed Roche could reach.To compensate for Roche’s age and lack of experience, he was given a few yards’ head start since it was expected that Kavanagh, as the more seasoned runner, would have the measure of him.To startled onlookers, Roche outpaced his older rival and won the race well.
A second race was then organised, but this time the rules were slightly different. Watching club officials were now aware that Roche was at least a match for, or even faster than Kavanagh, so it was agreed that both runners would start at the same place.In the second race Roche outran his older rival and triumphed again. As the small crowd took in what they had witnessed, Jim Connolly and Paddy Kavanagh both realised that they had an athletic sensation on their hands. Paddy Roche became an established member of the Knockrea Athletic Club, and he was very quickly tested against other runners from across Ireland. A series of victories followed in local race meetings, and his easy-going style on and off the track won him many admirers.
In July 1906, in fine weather in front of a large crowd at the GAA championships in Cork, he ran in his Knockrea vest in the 100-yard and 220-yard events. He won both races handsomely, and The Irish Times observed that Roche was ‘one of the most promising youngsters we have seen in years’.
He enrolled as an engineering student at Queen’s College Cork in 1906, and as he was keen to advance his running career he had a difficult job balancing his studies with training.The student athlete was given great encouragement from friends and family to continue his running, even though he was still learning the sport. He was persuaded in 1907 to enter the Irish Amateur Athletic Association championships in Dublin.
Roche made the journey up to the athletic meeting in Ballsbridge with a small band of supporters, including his younger brother, Dick. Feeling confident after his easy wins in the GAA championships the previous year, Paddy Roche was hopeful that he could repeat the trick in Dublin. By this time Paddy Roche had changed physically, and as the Cork Weekly Examiner would recall in fulsome praise, he had ‘blossomed into a magnificent specimen of an athlete’. The newspaper described him as standing well over six feet tall with a ‘wonderful depth of chest over good loins’. The correspondent added for good measure that ‘his limbs were so beautifully straight and graceful that he looked a picture’.
However, he faced strong opposition from Denis and Willie Murray, who were both outstanding runners. These two brothers were amongst the finest competitors in Ireland; Denis was the reigning and six times 100-yard and 200-yard champion, and Willie had recently returned from winning a prestigious tournament in England. In the first race, the 100-yard event, Paddy Roche swept past the Murray brothers and crossed the line first to the cheers of his family and friends.
In his next competition, which was the furlong race, Roche once again found himself up against Denis and Willie Murray. In the early stages very little divided the runners. As Roche came up to the final left-handed bend, he took a wide position and overtook Willie Murray. The move surprised Denis Murray, who gasped as Roche, in his traditional red shirt with the distinctive ‘K’ marking, moved into the lead. As Roche took pole position, his schoolboy brother, Dick, shouted excitedly from the sidelines, ‘Come on, Paddy, boy Paddy was never bate, come on!’ Paddy Roche held his lead and crossed the finishing line a yard and half ahead of Willie Murray.
Paddy Roche, his brother and supporters returned to Munster overjoyed. The boy from Cork was now a double national champion, and great opportunities were about to come his way.
The year 1907 also marked his international debut. On the last Saturday in June he competed in the annual contest between Ireland and Scotland. Roche travelled to the event held at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, the home of Glasgow Rangers. If he was nervous about his first appearance in Irish colours he kept such feelings well hidden.
He entered the 100-yard race, and came first. He ran the distance in 10.4 seconds, finishing a good yard ahead of his nearest opponent. In the 220-yard race he did not disappoint his watching teammates. He again triumphed with an impressive time of 22.8 seconds, 5 yards ahead of his closest rival. Ireland won by six events to Scotland’s five. Roche’s success was picked up by the watching journalists, who noted that he won both races ‘rather easily’. His style of running and his pace caught the eye of both reporters and the officials from the Irish team. In June 1908 he returned to Dublin to defend his 100-yard title. In front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, which included Dublin’s Lord Mayor Joseph Patrick Nannetti and Lady Mayoress, Roche proved that he was not prepared to relinquish his crown, and he won the 100-yard championship easily.
A month later he again swapped his Knockrea vest for an Irish one as he crossed the Irish Sea for the fourteenth annual contest between the athletes of Ireland and Scotland, which took place at Edinburgh’s Saughton Exhibition Grounds. Conditions were dull, but a sizeable crowd of 8,000 turned up to watch proceedings. For Paddy Roche, the event was very important. He was undoubtedly keen to repeat his success of the previous year, but he also wanted to put in a good performance ahead of the London Olympics, which were due to start within days. In Edinburgh he was again selected for two events, the 100-yard race and the 220-yard sprints. He won the 100-yard contests with a time of 10.6 seconds, and was a good yard ahead of his nearest rival. In the longer event he was a little slower than the previous year, and was pushed into second place by a yard. It was a successful afternoon for the Irish squad, and when the results came in from all the track and field events Ireland had won by 8 points to 3.
Nine days later, Paddy Roche was in London to compete in the most important race of his life. The 1908 Olympic Games were not meant to have been hosted in London, and were initially planned to take place in the city of Rome. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, however, meant that resources were needed to rebuild homes, and the Italian authorities felt they could not fund the Games, so an alternative venue was needed. With just two years to go, the International Olympic Committee approached Lord Desborough, William Henry Grenfell, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, to see if London could host the Games. Desborough, who was very keen on the idea, got the support of King Edward VII, and then accepted the offer from the Olympic authorities. In 1906, despite the short timeframe, preparations began to host the Games in England, and a new 66,000 capacity stadium was built at White
