Comórtas celebrations commence before a ball is even kicked

The show rolls down the Dingle peninsula to the very tip of the country this weekend, with Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta taking place in the west Kerry Gaeltacht. The annual event does exactly what it says on the tin - it provides a competitive weekend of Gaelic football for the Gaeltacht areas of the country, but that’s only the half of it. It’s an opportunity for people with a shared interest to come together and socialise, to meet up and compare notes on how their communities are doing.

It’s a competition - and a weekend - that has come a long way. Now a thousand people will descend on points west of Dingle, with TV and radio commentary as Gaeilge. A far cry from the competition’s beginning half a century ago. Seán Ó Cróinín was on hand for that first game. He was working for Gael Tarra in Tourmakeady in 1969, so he ended up playing for the Mayo club against Gweedore in the first Comórtas.