Dara Ó Cinnéide: Why captaincy tradition can’t imprison Kerry

“The selection of the best man for the position of Captain of a team is a matter of no little importance,” suggested Dick Fitzgerald in his book How to Play Gaelic Football.

Dick Fitzgerald, in his seminal 1914 book How to Play Gaelic Football has an entire section dedicated to the captaincy of a team. Fitzgerald, a name revered and remembered to this day, is a man whose insights on captaincy hold true, being one of only four two-time All-Ireland winning captains in Kerry.

“The selection of the best man for the position of Captain of a team is a matter of no little importance,” suggested Fitzgerald at the beginning of chapter VI.