Mountmellick native Patrick Cawley began playing volleyball just over three years ago and has since represented Ireland all over Europe.
He has played matches in Liechtenstein, Andorra, Romania and Scotland representing Ireland U-20s before his performances earned him a call up to the senior team.
In May, Patrick talents caught the eye of Ligue 2 team Frejus Var Volley and he subsequently travelled over to Frejus in the south of France for trials.
After impressing, he was called back for a second trial and will be returning to France in January.
Patrick, who went to school in Portlaoise College, began playing volleyball with his school team in September of 2021.
He quickly fell in love with the sport and found himself improving rapidly.
His school team won the All Ireland ‘B’ that same year and although they struggled against the more experienced schools in the higher divisions it became clear that Cawley had a talent for the sport.
This motivated him to continue playing with his school until the end of the academic year before he and a couple of his teammates decided that they would spend that summer using the school hall to practise.
He said: “We just asked our PE teacher could we use the hall over the summer and he agreed thankfully.
“He gave us so much oppurtunity to play and learn. We got the hall for the summer and we were just in there every single day, training.”
This resulted in Patrick developing rapidly thanks to the extra hours on the court. As Patrick improved, so did Mountmellick CS and their results improved.
Aorund this time his coach recommended that Patrick try out for the Ireland U-20 team reluctantly, Patrick went along with humble expectations.
Nearly 100 players were called in for a grueling set of trials as the Ireland coaches kept their eyes peeled for any players who could improve their team.
Patrick proved to be one of these players as his natural talent was evident to the coaches. However he still had to learn the tactical side of the game which was still ununfamiliar to him.
He said: “In Ireland especially, there really isn’t many tactics until you get up to a certain level so that was new to me”.
Subsequently Patrick’s journey with Ireland began, in the Small Countries Competition in January of 2023. After beating Gilbratar, a loss to Andorra put them out of the tournament.
He said: “They were just so good, for them the volleyball is like soccer to the Brazillians.”
Despite the narrow loss he gained valuable experience in his first international game.
Following this was the St Patrick’s Challenge which is a series games where the men’s and women’s U-18, U-20 and senior team’s face Northern Ireland each year on St Patrick’s Day.
Although the games are technically friendly, both countries are notoriously keen to get one over on their neighbours.
After performing well and consolidating his presence in the team Patrick’s side ran out a victors.
He said: “It was so big for us even if it was only a friendly, it was so big.”
These performances caught the attention of the U-22 manager who asked Patrick to try out for the team.
The U-22’s aren’t a stand alone team as such rather, it serves as a development team for the seniors.
Because of this, the two groups train together as it allows for the senior management to keep a close eye on the U-22 and promote players up to the next grade.
So after Patrick earned a spot in the U-22s and began playing games at that grade.
He said: “In my head I was only ever going to play on the U-22 team.”
However after proving himself at that grade he made the jump to the senior panel and made his first appearance in the Senior B Smart Cup against Scotland in December of last year.
Other teams they played in that tournament included Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.
Patrick had particular praise for Liechtenstein who he felt were a really strong set up.
He said: “When you hear Liechtenstein you probably just think of a tiny country by volleyball is so serious for them out there.”
While he admitted that the step was difficult at first, he acclimatized eventually and soon proved himself as a valuable asset to the team off the bench.
He said: “It’s hard though to play under that pressure especially when you come on as a sub.”
However, when he returned to the U-20 team in January, the manager dropped Patrick in the opening fixture.
While disappointed, Patrick used this setback as motivation and quickly earned his spot back in the team.
Then, Patrick used his senior experience in the Small Countries to great effect and proved to be one of the standout out players in the competition played in Andorra.
After performing well and consolidating his presence in the team Patrick’s side ran out a victors, as the team now had momentum to bring into the Small Countries Competition in Andorra.
Ireland then travelled to the Alps where they would play small but vastly experienced countries in the Small Countries Tournament in January of this year.
While there was belief throughout the squad, expectations were relatively low. At this time Ireland were yet to win any silverware at underage level.
However, after strong performances against San Marino and Gibraltar, Ireland earned a chance against Northern Ireland and with the help of Patrick.
They defeated their neighbours and became the first Ireland team at their age group to win a medal.
The bronze medal clinching team received national recognition for this achievement with an article acknowledging Patrick’s performance featuring on the Irish Independent.
The successful team then travelled to Romania for a series of friendly games, which is known as a hotbed for volleyball in Europe.
He said: “Over there it’s a whole different level, even though those teams were young they were so strong.”
Subsequently he attracted the attention of Ligue 2 side Frejus Var Volley and was invited over to the town near Monaco to try out for the professional side.
He said: “In my head it was just experience, I didn’t go over thinking that I’d make the team.”
Patrick had huge praise for the standard of volleyball in the south of France but also acknowledged that this high standard forced him to up his own game.
He said: “It was like a job, it was tough, but at the end of it I was thinking, yeah I want this lifestyle.”
He was happy with how he performed on the trial and has been called back for a second trial in January.
Next summer, Patrick will be part of a squad aiming to qualify for the European Championships.
He said: “We’ll be playing against players that have been playing their whole lives, players that play for a living, some of the best teams in the world. It will be a crazy experience.”
The volleyball calendar is a dense and travel heavy affair and at present Patrick is funding the majority of his own travels.
Because of this Patrick is seeking sponsorship so he can continue representing Laois internationally.
If any local businesses as would like to sponsor Patrick they can contact him at patrickcawleyvb@gmail.com.
He is set to get plenty of coverage over the next year as he gets ready for another season with Ireland.
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