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Extra.ie
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Dáithí Ó Sé loves all things Donegal
TV presenter Dáithí Ó Sé has spoken of the natural kinship between Kerry and Donegal folk, as the two Gaeltacht strongholds do battle in the All-Ireland Final today. And the Kerry native said he can only dream of being as popular as one of Donegal's most famous sons. Ó Sé told he has 'always had a soft spot for Donegal and the people of Donegal', and recalled the last championship final involving the counties in 2014, when they both contested the minor final too. 'There were people from Donegal next to me and a Kerry friend of mine [in Croke Park],' the broadcaster remembered. 'But we had a few pints together after the minor match we had a few pints at half time in the senior game, and we had a few pints after as well. 2014 GAA Football All Ireland Senior Championship Final, Kerry v Donegal. Pic: Pat Murphy / SPORTSFILE 'So the two bunches of supporters, they're probably unique in that they really get on well together and there's a huge amount of respect between the two teams and their supporters.' Kerry came out on top in both games that day, the Donegal seniors unable to reproduce the heroics that had brought them a second-ever All-Ireland title two years earlier. Ó Sé said his wife Rita once asked him, as he set off to an event in Tír Chonaill, if 'people in Donegal love you the way people in Kerry love Daniel [O'Donnell]?' The Rose of Tralee host laughed that his answer was: 'I would love to think someday that I'd reach that level of admiration – in any county.' While the 'final that loads of people have been waiting for' is too tight to call, Dáithí is predicting a 39th title for Kerry after a 'cracker' of a game. 'I think Kerry's last two games [convincing wins over old foes Armagh and Tyrone] will really stand to them,' he reasoned. Pic: Instagram/ Daithi O'Se 'What I was really impressed with after two really, really hard games was that they were still full of energy. There was no one cramping. 'They're a very slick-looking outfit at the moment. Now, Donegal are exactly the same, but I just think Kerry will have an edge on them.' The presenter is no relation to his county men Páidí, Darragh, Tomás and Marc Ó Sé, the An Ghaeltacht dynasty with 24 All-Ireland inter county medals between them. But he is related to another An Ghaeltacht man who starts for Kerry today. Half-back Brian Ó Beaglaoich – who was full-back during that 2014 minor final against Donegal – is Ó Sé's second cousin once removed. Croke Park. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile He said of Ó Beaglaoich: 'He'll go at it all day long. He's not afraid to go forward as well and break through. Just a fantastic footballer.' And the 49-year-old Today presenter said recent talk of Kerry pundits – and their famously demanding supporters – being too quick to get on the team's back is just 'par for the course'. He said: 'People have opinions, and they have opinions because they love it. 'Darragh Ó Sé [who criticised manager Jack O'Connor for not developing the squad] loves Kerry football. 'Jack O'Connor [who shot back that the former midfielder would 'be better off doing a bit of coaching himself'] loves Kerry football. And the love for Kerry football is what unites people at the end of it. 'But I think that has shown Kerry's strength this year – that [criticism] has been happening in the background, people were unhappy with the way they were playing, and then they come out and they blow Armagh and Tyrone out of the water.' Aside from their similarly rugged coastlines, strong Gaeltacht traditions and long journeys to Croke Park, Kerry and Donegal even have the same flag, and their strip was virtually identical for most of the GAA's history. Donegal favoured a mostly green jersey with a gold hoop in the centre right up to the 1990s. After beating Mayo in the 1992 All-Ireland semi-final in a mostly yellow strip – worn to avoid a colour clash – Donegal decided to stick with that winning kit in their first-ever final, against Dublin. Since then they have favoured a mainly yellow jersey with green sleeves and trim.
Irish Examiner
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Kerry rule preventing Aidan Walsh from playing hurling with Kanturk
Former Cork dual player Aidan Walsh is unable to play hurling with his native Kanturk due to a "rule in Kerry". The 2010 Sam Maguire winner plays football with An Ghaeltacht, having transferred to the west Kerry club earlier this year. "You can play hurling within Kerry, but you can't play outside of Kerry. I can't play for Kanturk," Walsh told the BBC's The GAA Social podcast. "I could play hurling in Kerry but the closest club (Tralee Parnells) is nearly an hour and a half away. "It's an old rule, which I tried to get around it, but unfortunately couldn't. I love playing hurling. My father is manager of the hurling team in Kanturk. My brother and my cousins all play. There's a fierce connection there." Walsh said he should have transferred two years ago but he had a strong desire to help Kanturk's rise through the grades. "Thankfully, we got up to senior, senior," he said. "It kind of made it a bit easier but it's still very difficult. It was very hard to leave it. Family is more important now. Just having my son be able to watch me play for however many years I've left is more important than anything." Walsh admitted that he has struggled in adapting to life in an Irish speaking area. "I am trying to try to grasp it and learn it; even playing with the Gaeltacht, it's a new experience because it's all Irish, all the team talks and everything is in Irish," he said. "I just try to leave my football do the talking. I like to think that I have a bit of knowledge about the game, but when I give my bit of tactics, what I feel we should be doing or what we could do better, I have to give it in English. "I've been trying to learn it. It's getting a bit frustrating now for sure. My three-year-old son is talking Irish and I'm struggling to know what he's on about." Since moving to Kerry, and also due to ash dieback making materials hard to source, Walsh has quit the hurley making business. However, he still has one customer: Patrick Horgan. He most recently made one for the Cork forward before April's league final "I always kept a few planks aside for him," said Walsh. "I still have my workshop at home in my parents' place. His hurley is different to every other hurley. I don't know how he plays with it. His wrists are just huge, that he's able to use a heavy hurley. "The unfortunate thing about that is everyone wants a Hoggie hurley then. I'd be like to them, 'I can make you a Hoggie hurley, but I don't think you'll be able to swing it because the bas is so big'. It's a fair lump of hurley. It's unique. I have one of his old ones in the workshop. "When kids call, I'd always show it to them because they'd always be fascinated. Some of them can't even lift it. I don't know anyone else that plays with that kind of hurley."
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The GAA Social Aidan Walsh. Being let go. Winning an All-Ireland, moving to Kerry
Life after inter-county GAA takes a period of time to adjust. When your a Cork hurler and footballer you've dined in two hotels- both five star. Life has now brought Aidan Walsh to West Kerry. He transferred to the home of the O'Se's An Ghaeltacht and life is good. Love can do that sort of thing. A beautiful wee boy (yes-wearing a Kerry jersey) has changed perspective. Living in one of the most beautiful places in Ireland- but he can't speak the language. In this podcast we discuss being dropped at 30, why Aidan struggles to go and watch Cork Hurlers but believes (and hopes) they will win the All-Ireland this year. He also makes Patrick Horgan's hurleys- his is a bit different. It's a great catch-up with an All-Ireland winning footballer, a gifted hurler and a man who is at home in Kerry-but always Cork.
Irish Independent
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry boss says Munster final display won't be good enough to beat Ulster champions in All-Ireland semi-final
Tomás Ó Sé: 'It probably leaves a sour taste in your mouth how sloppy we actually got [towards the end] but I do take the point that we did very well for long periods of that game' Kerryman There were probably a range of emotions floating through Tomás Ó Sé's mind at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Monday evening. Undoubtedly satisfaction was one of them, after his Kerry side lifted the Munster Under-20 football title for the third year of his three years in charge, and making it a fourth successive provincial title for the Kingdom. At the same time, however, Kerry's fade-out in the last ten minutes or so, allowing Cork to turn a 15-point deficit into an eight-point defeat, certainly annoyed the An Ghaeltacht man. As did the sobering realisation that the All-Ireland semi-final will provide the ultimate gut-check in a fortnight.
