| Paul Barden | |
| Feet: | 6 |
| Inches: | 1 |
| Code: | Football |
| County: | Longford |
| Province: | Leinster |
| Clcountyf: | 3 |
| Clcountyh: | 5 |
| Counties: | Longford |
| Icyears: | 1999 - 2015 |
| Icposition: | Forward |
| Nfl: | 2 |
| Birth Date: | 1 July 1980 |
| Birth Place: | County Longford, Ireland |
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]
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]