Philip J. Duke was a former Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 player for Cavan

Cavan GAA

The Cavan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Cavan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cavan...

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Playing career

Duke was a versatile footballer, he could play as a Half-Back, Midfielder or as a Forward. Cavan’s historic win over Kerry in the 1947 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...

 final played at the Polo Grounds

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...

 in New York was arguably P.J. Duke’s greatest ever hour. Cavan found themselves eight points down against a Kerry side playing out of their skins. Team-manager Hughie O’Reilly

Hughie O’Reilly

Hugh 'Hughie' O’Reilly was a Gaelic football player and manager for Cavan and Cootehill Celtic GAA Club.-Playing career:The Cootehill clubman is the only man to be involved in all of Cavan's Senior All-Ireland Championship victories. He played and won 2 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship...

 switched P. J. from Midfield to right half back to mark Batt Garvey who had threatened to win the game on his own. The Switch saw an immediate tightening up of the Cavan defence and this changed the entire pattern of the game with the red-haired P.J. Duke making spectacular runs out of defence, and the inter-passing speed and skills of Mick Higgins

Mick Higgins

Mick Higgins was an Irish sportsperson who played Gaelic football for Cavan, winning three All-Ireland medals during his career...

 and Tony Tighe

Tony Tighe

Anthony 'Tony' Tighe was a former Gaelic football player for Cavan. He won three All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals won in 1947, 48 and 1952-Playing career:...

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He again formed a brilliant half back partnership with Simon Deignan

Simon Deignan

Simon Deignan is a former Gaelic football player for Cavan.-Playing career:A native of Mullagh. Deignan won a All-Ireland Minor Football Championship medal in 1938. He formed a brilliant half back partnership with P. J. Duke & J. J. O'Reilly that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship...

 & J. J. O'Reilly to reclaim the title in 1948. He won a National Football League

National Football League (Ireland)

The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...

 medal in 1949 and he collected a Railway Cup medal with Ulster in 1950. He won three Sigerson Cup

Sigerson Cup

The Sigerson Cup is the top division of Higher Education Gaelic football in Ireland, It is administrated by the Higher Education committee which is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association...

 medals with University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

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Death

Duke died while in his prime on 1 May 1950 after a short illness at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

Other honours

• Number 124 in The 125 greatest stars of the GAA
  The 125 greatest stars of the GAA
  The 125 greatest stars of the GAA is an Irish Independent commissioned list of the greatest hurlers and Gaelic footballers of all-time. Unveiled in November 2009 through five stages in the newspaper, the list marked part of the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the Gaelic...
  
  
• select right half back in Cavan's ‘Team of the Millennium’ in December, 2000
• picked for the star-studded Combined Universities team against Rest of Ireland selections in 1949