From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darragh Ó Sé |
| Personal information |
| Sport |
Gaelic football |
| Irish Name |
Darach Ó Sé |
| Place of birth |
County Kerry , Ireland |
| Club information |
| Club |
An Ghaeltacht |
| Position |
Midfield |
| Club(s)* |
| Club |
Years |
Apps (scores) |
| An Ghaeltacht |
|
| Inter-County |
| County |
Kerry |
| Position |
Midfield |
| Inter-County(ies)** |
| County |
Years |
Apps (scores) |
| Kerry |
1994 - Present |
|
| Senior Inter-County Titles |
| Munster Titles |
9 |
| All-Ireland |
5 |
| All Stars |
4 |
|
* club appearances and scores
correct as of {{{clupdate}}}.
**Inter County team apps and scores correct
as of {{{icupdate}}}.
|
Darragh Ó Sé is a current Gaelic football midfielder for Kerry and An Ghaeltacht. He is an auctioneer from County Kerry.
[edit] Underage Football career
Darragh played with Kerry in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship of 1993. He went on to be a member of the Kerry squad for the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship from 1993 to 1996.
[edit] Senior Career - 1990s
Darragh made his Kerry Debut in 1994 at a time when Kerry Football was in the doldrums, with the Munster Senior Football Championship dominated by their old rivals Cork. His first National Football League game was against Donegal, and his first Munster Senior Football Championship and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship game was against Limerick later in the year.
In 1996 Darragh's uncle Paidi Ó Sé took over as manager, and Kerry's fortunes improved. They were Munster champions once more. However, they were turned over by Mayo in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. In 1997 however Kerry were to have their revenge in the all-Ireland final when Maurice Fitzgerald kicked 9 points in a 0-13 to 1-07 victory. Darragh had now started to stamp his authority as a quality midfielder and over the next 10 years would become Ireland's best. In 1998 Kerry lost to Kildare after winning the Munster championship. 1999 saw them knocked out in the Munster Championship by eventual All-Ireland finalists Cork.
[edit] Senior Career - 2000s
Darragh was the midfielder for Kerry's All-Ireland victory in 2000 where they overcame Cork and Clare in Munster before having to endure an extra time replay over Armagh in the semi final. These games were two of the best in recent times. They played Galway in the final and were victorious again after a replay. His performances earned him a long overdue All-Star. In 2001 Kerry faced the team they had shared dominance of the game with over the last 5 years in the semi final, Meath. There was some controversy leading up to the game with brand new squad member Eoin Brosnan getting the captaincy before the game, despite not yet having established himself as a regular. There was also great debate about the refusal to start the legendary Maurice Fitzgerald. Nonetheless, people were expecting a classic. This did not happen and Kerry crumbled and suffered their worst defeat in Croke Park, 2-14 to 0-05. The following year again brought controversy, Kerry were forced to play a replay of their Munster Semi Final against Cork only a couple of days after team manager Páidí buried his brother and Darragh (along with his brothers Tomás and Marc buried their father. Cork took full advantage and Kerry embarked on a qualifier campaign which saw them account for Wicklow, Fermanagh and Kildare before they met champions Galway in the quarter final. Darragh was instrumental in all these games and none more so in the next 2 games. Kerry romped past Galway by 8 points to set up a revenge showdown with Cork. Darragh, Mike Frank Russell and new youngster Colm Cooper were the stars as Kerry routed Cork by a scoreline of 3-19 to 2-07 to proceed to the final against Armagh. At one stage Kerry led the final by 5 points and had 2 great goal chances in the first half with Darragh dominating proceedings in the middle of the field. However, Darragh was not playing well in the second half and this spread throughout the team. This combined with Armagh's ruthless intensity and some questionable refferreing decisions allowed Armagh to win on a score of 1-12 to 0-14. The following year Kerry went out with a whimper to Tyrone in the semi final stage on a score of 0-13 to 0-06. Darragh and the whole Kerry team struggled and Kerry looked like they were going to be left behind with the new "blanket defence" that was introduced by teams like Armagh and perfected by Tyrone, many criticised this tactic as it was a means of stopping talented footballers like Darragh, Colm Cooper and the likes from playing but few could deny it's effectivness. This was the end of the road for Páidí and Jack O'Connor took over and Darragh continued his role as midfielder, and performed heroics in the Munster Final of that year to help ensure a replay of the Munster Final against Limerick which Kerry won. Kerry then easily accounted for Dublin and Derry. In the semi final Darragh picked up an injury which cruelly ruled him out for the final against Mayo which Kerry cakewalked on a score of 1-20 to 2-09. Kerry waltzed to another final in 2005 to face Tyrone who were after a mammoth 9 games en route to the final. This lack of competitive games for Kerry told in the end although they almost rescued the game but came up short by 3 points 1-16 to 2-10. Kerry started poorly in 2006 and went out tamely to Cork in Munster. However, Kieran Donaghy was employed as full forward and turned the season. They bounced back against Longford to set up a meeting with Armagh in the quarter final who went in as raging favourites. At half time it looked as though the Ulser hoodoo would strike again but Kerry blitzed Armagh in the second half with Darragh bossing things in the middle, Kieran Donaghy and Co. flourished. They won by a score of 3-15 to 1-13 and in the process putting pay to the notin that Kerry had no answer to the Northern style of play. Kerry again beat Cork in a semi final before hammering Mayo even more convincingly than 2 years previous. They were 2-04 to 0-00 up after 10 minutes and the game was effectivley over. Kerry won on a score of 4-15 to 3-05. In 2007 Darragh had a fine league campaign which carried into Munster as he helped Kerry narrowly overcome Cork. Darragh was then, along with the entire Kerry team, out of sorts for much of the quarter final against Monaghan but it was he along with his brothers who stood up to the plate in the last 10 minutes to avoid a shock with Kerry winning out by the narrowest of margins. This set up a mouthwatering tie with arch rivals Dublin with a place to face Cork in the final up for grabs. Darragh spent much of the game on the bench after picking up a hip injury but he returned after an injection to help Kerry see off a spirited Dublin comeback to win by 2 points. In the final Darragh and Kerry were awesome and destroyed their Munster rivals, and the 10 point margin did not flatter them in the least. Final Score was 3-13 to 1-09. With Kerry, Darragh has gone through the ups and downs, but has etched his name in history as one of the great midfielders of a great Kerry team.
O'Se has won four GAA All Stars Awards for his performances, in 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007, Ó Sé has also won the national football league title with Kerry on two occasions in 1997 and 2006 and missed the 2004 victory due to suspension.
[edit] References
|
Kerry Senior Football Team |
|
|
|
|
|
2006 Gaelic Football All Stars Team |
|
|
|
|
|
2007 Gaelic Football All Stars Team |
|
|
|
|
