Cruciate blow for key Offaly senior footballer

A key Offaly senior football stalwart has become the latest victim of a cruciate injury.

Goalkeeper Paddy Dunican did his right cruciate late on in Shamrocks' comprehensive Senior Football Championship mauling by Tullamore last Sunday.

He is pencilled in for an operation at the end of the month and it means that his season is over for Shamrocks. Dunican is now facing a race against time to be fit for the start of Offaly's National Football League campaign at the end of January 2026.

The Mucklagh man was playing at corner forward for Shamrocks in last week's loss. While firmly established as the number one goalkeeper in Offaly, he has played most of his club football for Shamrocks out the field. The presence of a very good goalkeeper in 2021 All-Ireland U20 football winning custodian Sean O'Toole is a factor in this but Dunican was also very much an outfield player in his early years.

He played in attack for Offaly minor and U21 footballers but it was in goals that he found his niche at senior inter-county level. He established himself in goals for the county in 2018/2019 and returned to the number one jersey in 2025 after taking two years out to work and travel abroad.

The Mucklagh man is a National School teacher and likes to rove out from the goals for Offaly seniors, regularly cropping up in advanced attacking positions.

While it is not that long ago since a cruciate injury meant a year plus on the sidelines, that has changed recently and Dunican could be back within five months. He will certainly do the work and have the right attitude to get back as quick as he can and he should definitely be recovered for the championship campaign next year, as well as some of the league games.

Limerick goalkeeper Nicky Qaaid got back from a cruciate after five months and the fact that Dunican is a goalkeeper as well should shorten his time out – even though, he has to kick the ball. It may mean he would have to limit his adventures up-field for a while after his return but that wouldn't be a big problem with the new rules in football meaning that goalkeepers are not as important coming out the field as they were a couple of years ago.

He will be a loss to Shamrocks who have qualified for the Senior Football Championship quarter-finals and face Bracknagh next weekend to determine whether they are second or third in the group.

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Shamrocks have another big injury concern with attacking utility player David O'Toole-Greene going off early against Tullamore with a shoulder injury and he could be facing some weeks out of action.