Friends and rivals laud kingdom’s hero

It is in Dingle where the loss is being hardest felt.

Parish priest Canon Tomás Ó Luanaigh said Páidí Ó Sé was a great family and businessman who was always promoting the Dingle Peninsula.

Describing him as “laoch mór na ríochta” (“the big hero of the kingdom”), Fr Ó Luanaigh also said he had a great love of the Irish language and culture.

“We always spoke in Irish when we met,” said Fr Ó Luanaigh.

“He was always seeking to bring people to the peninsula and would ensure they were looked after when they came. He was really looking forward to his football weekend at which the late Roscommon footballer Dermot Earley is to be honoured.”

Another ex-player and All-Ireland winning captain, Dara Ó Cinnéide, a player during Páidí’s time as manager, said Páidí was “Kerry to the core” and personified the spirit of the county’s long, proud tradition in the game.

“When he took over as manager in 1995, he made a statement that he was going to bring spirituality back into Kerry football, which he did,” said Ó Cinnéide. “His passion rubbed off on everybody and all the players under him were moulded and influenced by him.

“He loved Kerry and loved being a Kerryman. He lived for the green and gold and had an indomitable spirit. You’d never see him a bad mood.’

Former Kerry manager Mick O’Dwyer said he could see Ó Sé had “something special” when he first saw him as a minor player in the 1970s.

“He had already made it clear that his life-long ambition, up to that time, was to win All-Ireland medals with Kerry,” said O’Dwyer. “He went on to win eight medals, which few people have done.”

Fine Gael Mayo TD and former Mayo, Galway, and Leitrim manager John O’Mahony, who joined in the tributes to Ó Sé and sympathised with his family, said: “As someone who played against him and managed Galway against him in an All-Ireland final in 2000, Páidí became a personal friend over the years and I am deeply shocked at his sad passing.

“Páidí was a great servant of the GAA, as a player and a manager, and he was the life and soul of the party wherever he went. His contribution to the GAA for Kerry and nationally was immense.

“Back in 2001, I accompanied Páidí on all-star trip to Dubai and in the 1970s I played against him for Mayo in an All-Ireland final, and his prowess in the sporting world was matched only by his great companionship off the field.

“His loyalty to the people he knew and to the GAA was remarkable. He will be sorely missed.”