Paul McGrath (born December 4, 1959 in Ealing, England) is a former international football (soccer) defender, a long-time member of the Republic of Ireland national team. He was one of the first black Irish celebrities.

McGrath worked briefly as an apprentice sheet metal worker in Dublin before becoming a full time professional. Brought up in a number of orphanages, McGrath was a secondary school student by the time he played his first organised game of football. He began as a schoolboy with Pearse Rovers and played junior football for Dalkey United before moving in 1981 to Football League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic. He excelled at St Pat's, earning the nickname "The Black Pearl of Inchicore" and receiving the PFAI Young Player of the Year Award in his first and only season.

He moved to Manchester United (1982-89), and later Aston Villa (1989-96), Derby County (1996-97), and Sheffield United (1997-98). While at Villa Park he was nicknamed God, and was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1993. He is considered one of the greatest players in Villa's history.

McGrath was born in England to an Irish mother and a Ghanaian father. He was a major part of the breakthrough of its national team of the late 1980s and early 1990s, led by manager Jack Charlton. He was capped 83 times for his country, scoring eight goals, and played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.