Paddy Fahey was the only member of the AAUE athletics contingent at the 1948 London Olympic Games based outside Dublin, a standard bearer for rural Irish athletics who honoured the Olympic occasion by running in shoes for the first time in competition. From Hollyford, County Tipperary, Fahey was a member of Coolcroo AC in the parish of Moycarkey and Two Mile Borris, a club that caused a sensation in 1947 when it left the NACAI to affiliate to the AAUE - among the very few rural clubs in Ireland to do so.
He was described as 'the most improved runner in Ireland' in 1948 and won the Irish three-mile title that year in 14:40.9. At the London Games he competed in the 10,000 metres - run as a once-off final.
Athletics
