Páidí Ó Sé

Páidí Ó Sé (Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠaːdʲiː oː ˈʃeː]; 16 May 1955 – 15 December 2012) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player, whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen seasons from 1974 to 1988. Ó Sé is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation.

Born in Ceann Trá, County Kerry, Ó Sé was named after the Kerry Gaelic footballer of the time; Paudie Sheehy. He was encouraged as a Gaelic footballer by his mother, who recognised his "raw talent" and nurtured it. As a boarder at St Brendan's College Ó Sé excelled in the sport at colleges level and won back-to-back Corn Uí Mhuirí medals, however, an All-Ireland medal remained elusive.

At just fourteen-years of age Ó Sé joined the Gaeltacht senior team in 1970. He won numerous divisional championship titles in the course of his career, while he was also selected for the West Kerry divisional team. Ó Sé won back-to-back county senior championship medals in 1984 and 1985.

Ó Sé made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he was selected for the Kerry minor team in 1971. He enjoyed three championship seasons with the minor team, however, he was a Munster runner-up all three occasions. Ó Sé subsequently joined the Kerry under-21 team, winning back-to-back All-Ireland medals in 1975 and 1976. By this stage he had also joined the Kerry senior team, making his debut during the 1973-74 league. Over the course of the next fifteen seasons, Ó Sé won eight All-Ireland medals, beginning with a lone triumph in 1975, a record-equalling four championships in-a-row from 1978 to 1981 and three championships in-a-row from 1984 to 1986. He also won eleven Munster medals, four National Football League medals and five successive All-Stars. Ó Sé played his last game for Kerry in May 1988 before being dropped from the starting fifteen for the subsequent Munster final defeat by Cork, a move which effectively brought an end to his inter-county career.

After being chosen on the Munster inter-provincial team for the first time in 1976, Ó Sé was an automatic choice on the starting fifteen until 1985. During that time he won four Railway Cup medals.

Even during his playing days Ó Sé became involved in team management and coaching. He was player-manager of the West Kerry team that secured championship honours in 1985, before guiding the team to a second championship title from the sideline in 1990. Ó Sé was overlooked for the position of Kerry senior football team manager in 1989 and again in 1992, however, he was appointed manager of the Kerry under-21 team in 1993. After winning the All-Ireland Championship in this grade in 1995, he was later appointed manager of the Kerry senior team. In his eight seasons in charge Ó Sé guided the team to two All-Ireland Championships, six Munster Championships and one National League. As manager he was instrumental in developing the inter-county careers of his three nephews, Darragh, Tomás and Marc Ó Sé, however, his tenure as manager ended acrimoniously after a heavy defeat by Tyrone which followed some controversial comments about the Kerry supporters. Ó Sé remained in inter-county management and was appointed manager of the westmeath senior team in 2003. His tenure was a successful one, with Westmeath securing a first ever Leinster Championship in 2004. Ó Sé ended his inter-county managerial career with a one-year stint as manager of the Clare senior team.

Ó Sé was renowned as a tough defender and tight marker, a trait best exemplified in the fact that he conceded just one solitary point in ten All-Ireland final appearances. He was regarded as a larger-than-life character both on and off the field and he remains an iconic figure in the annals of Gaelic football in Kerry. Ó Sé's sudden death in December 2012 led to a widespread outpouring of grief amongst the people of Kerry and a deep sense of loss throughout the wider Gaelic football community.