The Master is dead, long live The Master

Diarmaid O'Flynn Talking Sport

It’s not just the mesmeric ability with ball in hand, it’s the intangibles, the feelgood factor for all those who see him play, the knowledge that here among us is a genius, a player for the ages, one who will be spoken of as long as gaelic football is played.

This past weekend, in radio and television, we heard a succession of moving, impressive tributes paid to the man who was known simply as ‘The Master’. Sean Purcell of Galway won just one All-Ireland senior football title, 1956 against Cork. And one by one, as each contemporary of Purcell’s spoke, those who had witnessed his greatness could have been speaking about the Gooch.