A sad farewell as golden light goes out over West Kerry

My earliest memory of Páidí Ó Sé is of a young lad in perpetual motion with ball in hand playing against the gable end of his house in Árd a’ Bhothair or soloing up the cosach, that picturesque little byroad to Dunquin.

He was born to play, inspired by his older brothers Micheal and Tom — both talented footballers and multiple All-Ireland medal holders, his first cousin — the great Tom Long, the late Dan Kavanagh, Batt Garvey and Mick Murphy. He was determined to wear the green and gold from an early age.

He was encouraged by his mother Beatrice who is reputed to have once declared ‘beating Cork in a Munster final was a far superior achievement than a successful Leaving Cert’.