Paddy McClure

Belfast’s Paddy McClure was one of the best swimmers and water polo players in Ireland in the 1920s. He was a member if the Clonard Swimming Club from its inception in 1920, and in 1924 won the first of seven Irish 100 yards titles, including five consecutively. He won another six national titles at 220- and 440-yards between 1924-32.

Despite his swimming achievements, McClure became better known as a water polo player and won the first of 20 international caps against England while still at school at the age of 16 in 1924. McClure went on to captain Ireland and took part in the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, where he had the distinction of scoring Ireland’s only goal in the 11-1 defeat by Belgium. Through 2024, it was the last goal scored by an Ireland water polo team at the Olympics.

A left-hander, McClure was a member of the first Clonard team to win the Irish Senior Cup in 1924 when they beat Clontarf 7-0. He went on to win 10 winners’ medals between then and 1937, including six in succession 1930-35.

At the 1928 Olympics, McClure was described as: “One of the best water polo players in the world.” That lavish praise was not from his own adoring fans, coaches, or team-mates, but from one of the Hungarian coaches at The Games – and Hungarian water polo coaches knew a good player when they saw one. McClure was a bookmaker by profession.