DERMOT EARLEY JUNIOR led from the sideline as his Defence Forces side fittingly won the senior title, named in memory of his late father Dermot senior, at the 2015 Phonewatch Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Sé at the weekend.
Dermot Earley senior and the legendary Páidí Ó Sé, who passed away in December 2012, were great footballers and both would have revelled in the scenes at Ventry over the weekend.
Both Earley and Ó Sé were tremendous ambassadors for the GAA and it was Páidí’s Kerry’s that denied Earley his much-coveted Celtic Cross with Roscommon in the 1980 All-Ireland final.
Earley picked up five Connacht titles, a National League and two Allstars in a stellar career and he would have been pleased that his son did not leave the Kingdom empty-handed after an exciting 3-9 to 2-6 final win Down’s Castlewellan.
The former Defence Forces Chief of Staff served his country with distinction between 1965-2010 and Dermot junior guided a side backboned by the Kildare duo of Gary White and Padraig Fogarty, and appropriately fellow Rossie Ian Kilbride, to victory.
The festival of football, which featured sides from Madrid and Brussels, was an outstanding success and has become an international event, typified by the London derby in the junior men’s final where Cricklewood Garryowen bested North London rivals Tara.
The intermediate trophy was kept on Kerry soil as St Pats of Blennerville beat Cavan’s Laragh United while the ladies’ senior title was an all-Kerry affair with Rathmore beating Corca Dhuibhne.
In a good geographical spread of the prizes, Mayo’s Burrishoole beat Tralee’s John Mitchell’s in the intermediate decider while Dublin’s Man O’War ladies took the junior final beating North Kerry’s Causeway.
Páidí’s son Pádraig thanked everyone for the continued success of the event, giving particular praise to the clubs who gave up their pitches for the festivities.
Over 1300 Gaelic Football players from Ireland and abroad took part in the 26th edition of the famous competition played across the Dingle Peninsula.