An especially dark night in Árd a’ Bhothair

It was the renowned sportswriter Hugh McIlvanny who spoke of the the larcenous nature of death, its habit of breaking in on us when we are least prepared for it and stealing the irreplaceable. He was speaking of Jock Stein, but the feeling can seldom have been more painfully experienced than on the roads and boithríns around West Kerry last night.

Among the gathering of family and friends - including visits from Mickey Harte and Peter Quinn - the outpouring of yarns and tales would have thrilled Páidí Ó Sé, who died unexpectedly at 57 early Saturday, but the void he has left behind elicits darker emotions.

Yesterday came up dank and dark on the peninsula, darker than I have seen it, perhaps because a star had been removed without warning from its peaks and valleys.