PETER DARBY, THE man who captained Meath to the 1967 All-Ireland football title, has died.
The corner-back was attributed with the distinction of holding each of his direct opponents scoreless during that All-Ireland winning campaign. They beat Cork 1-9 to 0-9 in the final.
A distinguished dual player, Darby captained Trim to their only Meath senior football championship in 1962 as well as winning five county hurling titles with his club.
He scored 4-2 in the 1956 senior hurling final while still a minor, played in Meath’s 1961 All-Ireland junior hurling final loss to Kerry, and won Division 2 of the National Hurling League in 1962.
He was appointed Meath football captain for 1967 as county champions Gaeil Colmcille had no representative on a team that featured players from 15 different clubs. Darby, in his 10th year, was given the honour as the longest-serving member of the team.
Meath GAA paid tribute today to Darby.
Meath GAA offers its condolences to the friends and family of Peter Darby.
— Meath GAA (@MeathGAA) December 19, 2022
Peter captained Meath to the 1967 All-Ireland SFC. He was Guest of Honour at the county SFC Final in 1997, and in 2017, he was inducted into the county’s Hall of Fame.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal. pic.twitter.com/oqDOqrlSZX
He then led Meath on a historic tour of Australia in the spring of 1968, where they won all five games, although an injury sustained on that trip effectively ended his playing career.
Two years later, he served as Meath senior selector when they lost the 1970 All-Ireland final to Kerry.
Prior to the inception of the All-Stars, he won Cú Chulainn awards in 1964 and 1966, collected three Leinster football titles, and played in the 1966 All-Ireland final loss to Galway.
He had a lifelong involvement in the GAA, volunteering as Trim chairman and county board vice-chairman. He was inducted into the Meath GAA hall of fame in 2017.