Paul Barden (born 1 July 1980)[1] is a former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Longford county team from October 1998 until February 2015 when he announced his retirement. He was the longest serving inter-county player in the country until his retirement. He won an O'Byrne Cup medal with them in 2000, he also won 2 O'Byrne Shield medals in 2006 and 2007. He was also a member of the Ireland international rules football team in 2002 and 2006.[2] He also won a Railway Cup with Leinster in 2001 and 2002.[3] In 2011, he captained Longford to victory over Roscommon in the National Football League Div 4 final at Croke Park and in 2012, Longford were back at Croke Park, this time for the Division 3 final and again won beating Wexford with Barden once again captain.[4]

Paul Barden
Personal information
Position Forward
Born (1980-07-01) 1 July 1980 (age 44)
County Longford, Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Club titles
  Football Hurling
Longford titles 3 5
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
1999 - 2015
Longford
Inter-county titles
  Football Hurling
League titles 2

He plays his club football with Clonguish[5] with whom he won 3 Longford Senior Football Championships in 2003, 2004 and 2009. He also plays hurling with the club and won Longford Senior Hurling Championships in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2019 .[6]

In 2020 he was voted the best Longford Footballer of the past 50 years (1970-2020) in an Irish Independent poll of top 20 Longford footballers.[7][8]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Barden, Paul". Hoganstand.com. 31 May 2000. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Barden's faithful ambition". Hoganstand.com. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Barden wins second Railway Cup medal". Hoganstand.com. 7 November 2002. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  4. ^ "County Football Teams". Longford Gaelic Stats.
  5. ^ "Longford SFC final: Barden rescues Clonguish". Hoganstand.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Barden stars in Clonguish hurling success". Hoganstand.com. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  7. ^ "Individual Honours". Longford Gaelic Stats.
  8. ^ "GAA Top 20: Hanniffy, Barry or Barden - who is the greatest Longford footballer of the last 50 years?". independent.