Pat McCarthy (born 1950) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a midfielder for the Kerry and Kildare senior teams.
In extra time, McCarthy's strength and inspirational determination from midfield singlehandedly turned the tide for Kerry, who won out in the end by 3-20 to 2-19.
That year also saw the start of Jack O'Shea as a new midfielder for Kerry, with his future partner, Sean Walsh, also being brought in - initially as a substitute in the forward line.
Nonetheless, many people felt that McCarthy deserved more senior outings for Kerry than he received from Mick O'Dwyer over subsequent seasons.
When his playing days finished, McCarthy was involved in coaching and selector for the Kildare county team, notably for their nearly successful championship season in 1998 when they defeated Kerry in the semi-final but lost to Galway in the All-Ireland final.