Ó Sé hails Páidí’s influence

Marc Ó Sé says he’ll never forget how his late uncle Páidí stuck by him after the 2002 All-Ireland final defeat.

Marc was substituted after a difficult afternoon tracking Armagh forward Diarmuid Marsden but Páidí, then Kerry manager, refused to lay into him.

It was one of a number of stories Marc recalled at yesterday’s launch of the 24th annual EuroSpar Cuisine de France Comórtas Páidí Ó Sé.

“I had a bad day at the office,” recalled Marc. “In the full-back line, we got roasted that day. I think we conceded nine points from play.

“Marsden kicked three off me, (Ronan) Clarke kicked three off Seamus (Moynihan) and (Steven) McDonnell kicked three off Mike McCarthy. I was taken off with 45 or 50 minutes played and the papers gave me a reddening.

“The one thing I noticed after was how he was always in my ear. He was taking all the flak, I wasn’t taking any. But he was in my ear telling me, ‘You’re too good to throw this all away, keep going’. That’s exactly what I needed.

“The next day, coming home, we were flying down to Kerry. Sean O’Sullivan is a bad flyer. He was going to get off the plane and go up to Heuston Station and get the train.

“So Páidí says, ‘Look, sit down next to me in the back. If the plane goes down, you’re safe in the back. I’ll stay with you all the way and I’ll talk to you’. So the door was shut and Páidí was lights out straight away, asleep! Poor auld Sean, he got home in the end.”