Brendan O Sullivan

Brendan O'Sullivan has become a regular contributor to "Terrace Talk". Although born and based in Dublin, he has been a lifelong Kerry supporter. His father, from Beaufort, brought him to his first All-Ireland Final in 1955 and he saw Kerry defeat Dublin in that famous match. The arrival of Mick O'Connell on the scene confirmed Brendan's admiration for Kerry football and he has seen all the major triumphs and defeats for more than half a century.

Brendan worked in Colaiste Ide, Finglas, Dublin for 41 years, teaching History and English. When the school evolved into a College of Further Education, he became Head of the Sports Department, with responsibility for the successful Sports and Leisure Management Course. Apart from GAA, his other main sporting interest is horse racing.

Since his retirement in 2009 he has devoted some of his time to writing. A chance meeting with Weeshie Fogarty led to an invitation to research and write pieces, "Sunday Miscellany" style, for "Terrace Talk", mainly on topics relating to Kerry football. Brendan is married to Mary (from Kerry) and they have one son, Michael.



2015 - Kerry vs Dublin - My 61st Final

April 22nd, 2016
As we look back on 2015, I begin to count. 60 years since my first football final in 1955, sitting with my mother in the Cusack Stand.  Four finals missed in the intervening years; but four replays attended, ... more»


1955 - Kerry vs Dublin - My First Final

April 20th, 2016
This was one of the most famous finals of all. It was the classic city against country clash, the jackeens versus the culchies. Although they had contested the previous two finals, winning one, losing one, Kerry were ... more»


Laune Rangers 1892 - The Legacy

November 5th, 2015
The All-Ireland Football Final of 1892, played in March 1893, was over. Dublin Young Irelands had defeated Kerry's Laune Rangers by 1-4 to 0-3. The match was over but the controversy was beginning.  Reports in Cork ... more»


Laune Rangers 1892 - The Final

November 4th, 2015
The first All-Ireland final between Kerry and Dublin was the 1892 final, played in 1893. In those early years, clubs represented counties in the All-Ireland series and Killorglin's Laune Rangers dominated Kerry ... more»


In Memory of My Mother - Mary O'Sullivan

July 20th, 2015
1918-2014 I went with my mother to my first All-Ireland final in 1955 and sat on her knee in the Cusack Stand. In those days, children could be lifted over the stile with no questions asked. My father walked with us ... more»


The 2014 All Ireland Semi-Final against Mayo in Limerick

March 25th, 2015
Dublin to Limerick - 126 miles, seemed a long journey: Limerick to Dublin-126 miles, somehow seemed a much shorter journey. It was Saturday, August 30, 2014. Kerry and Mayo had played a thrilling draw 6 days earlier in ... more»


The 1891 Hurling Final - The Aftermath

May 29th, 2014
On 28 February 1892, Kerry won the 1891 All Ireland Hurling championship, beating Crossabeg of Wexford in a thrilling and controversial final, the only final which ever went to extra time. The Kerry team was composed ... more»


The 1891 Hurling Final

May 22nd, 2014
The date - 28 February 1892, the venue - Clonturk Park, Drumcondra, Dublin, the occasion - the All-Ireland Final, the teams - Wexford and Kerry, the sport - hurling. Yes, Kerry were in the All-Ireland Hurling final. ... more»


Forging a Kingdom

December 20th, 2013
Richard McElligott is now the unquestioned king among Kerry GAA historians. His recent book, "Forging a Kingdom", is a meticulously researched account of the first fifty years of the GAA in Kerry. This is far more ... more»


The Croke Cup 1913

September 11th, 2013
In this year 2013, we remember 1913, a momentous year in GAA and Kerry football history. Dr Thomas Croke, the association's first patron and key figure in its early years had died 11 years earlier and the GAA was still ... more»


A Trip to Omagh

April 10th, 2013
It was the seventh and last League match of 2013, Kerry playing Tyrone in Omagh. We had been to four games, endured rain in Castlebar, snow in Ballybofey, and enjoyed sunshine in Newbridge. We had seen the Old Firm, ... more»


A Kickhams Childhood

February 23rd, 2013
The Sundays of my Dublin youth saw me supporting Kickhams GAA team. My father was club secretary and, as a child, I used to accompany him to matches. The club was called after Charles Joseph Kickham, a Tipperary ... more»


Paidis Funeral Mass

January 5th, 2013
It was like a State funeral. Uniformed men in the front row representing the President and Taoiseach, countless priests on the altar, RTE cameras broadcasting the ceremony to the entire country and, via the internet, to ... more»


Memories of Michael O Hehir

December 20th, 2012
Last July, I visited Cusack Park, Mullingar, to attend the Kerry- Westmeath  qualifier match. Outside the ground, set into the surrounding wall, was a bust of Micheal O'Hehir: underneath was inscribed the words: ... more»


Roads, Roundabouts and a Football Sculpture

August 10th, 2012
As you drive into Tralee, at the Clashlehane roundabout, an unusual sculpture meets the eye-men leaping for a football. This is Kerry, this is a Gaelic football scene. Four figures, two on the alert as two others go ... more»


Life, Death and Hurling

May 12th, 2012
Michael Duignan, RTE analyst and former Offaly hurler, is the first GAA man from that county to write an autobiography. It is not your typical GAA story, it is more than a tale of matches lost and won, of highs and lows ... more»


All Ireland Colleges Glory

February 17th, 2012
I was a reluctant GAA manager. Younger teachers in our College of Further Education, Colaiste Ide in Dublin, looked after the football team. But, when the last of them, Kerryman Joe O'Sullivan from Brandon left on ... more»


Liam Higgins

November 23rd, 2011
A recent contribution to the Kerry GAA Forum highlighted the fact that five years had passed since the death of Liam Higgins. This prompted me to listen to the Radio Kerry broadcast of the 2006 All-Ireland Final between ... more»


A Kerry Dub

November 16th, 2011
It is 2011 and the Dubs are back. The recent All-Ireland final sent me down the lane of memories, leading me to reflect upon my passion for Kerry football. Although I am a Dubliner by birth, by residence and by accent, ... more»


A Match in Caherciveen

July 11th, 2011
I travelled south-west from Tralee on a sunny summer Sunday in July. Over the mountain to Killorglin, through picturesque Glenbeigh, along the majestic coastline to Cahersiveen. I drove into the town, saw the black and ... more»


Kerry and Tyrone - An Intense Rivalry

June 29th, 2011
Two counties dominated gaelic football in the first decade of the 21st century. For seven years in a row, the All-Ireland was won by either Kerry or Tyrone---4 to Kerry, 3 to Tyrone. Kerry are ahead in terms of titles ... more»


Kerry's Defeat by Waterford in 1957

June 22nd, 2011
There was no "Sunday Game" then, there were no on-the-spot radio reports from around the country. So, when GAA scores were announced on Radio Eireann in the evening of June 2, 1957, many people felt it was a ... more»


A Man of the People - Weeshie at 70

March 14th, 2011
As Kerry's premier broadcaster, Weeshie Fogarty, reaches a significant birthday, it is time to salute a man who is a household name in the county and beyond. For 2 hours on a Monday - Terrace Talk; for 1 hour on a ... more»


The Launch of the Captains

December 11th, 2010
Kerry football and its history permeated the room. The occasion was the Killarney launch of the DVD from Weeshie Fogarty and Christy Riordan entitled "Secrets of Kerry- A Captain's Story". This project, which ... more»


1982 All Ireland Final - A Personal Memory

September 19 1982 - A day of destiny for the great Kerry team. By the end of the afternoon 4-in-a-row would become 5-in-a-row-never achieved since the GAA was founded in 1884 by Michael Cusack. History was about to ... more»


All-Ireland Sunday - Memories Evoked From Half a Century Ago

We lived in Dublin within shouting distance of Croke Park but we were a Kerry household when it came to gaelic football. If Kerry were in the final, not an unusual occurrence, excitement was intense. The build-up ... more»


The Polo Grounds Final - September 14 1947

The 8 year old boy named Kerry from New York was going to be the mascot for the team named Kerry in the big match. He didn't fully understand what was going on but he got caught up in the excitement. His mother was ... more»


Micheal O Muircheartaigh

Micheal O'Muircheartaigh  celebrates his 80th birthday this month. He has been part of our lives for more years than most of us care to remember; yet, listening to him weekend after summer weekend the enthusiasm ... more»


Old Programmes

Collecting  programmes is an interest for many GAA followers. But  the oldest programmes in my collection are from before I was born; they are from some of the matches that my father attended as a young ... more»


Old Programmes - Part 2

My father's programmes move into the 1940s.  He saw Kerry complete 3-in-a-row in 1941, and in the same year, Cork win the 1st of 4-in-a-row , with a young Christy Ring  winning his first medal. A later ... more»


Mick O'Connell

It is 50 years since Mick O'Connell won his first All-Ireland medal. In September 1959 Mick was the captain of the Kerry team which defeated Galway. A legend was born as he accepted the Sam Maguire Cup, said  the ... more»


Johnny Culloty

"If ever there was an unassuming player, unspoiled by fame, that man was Johnny Culloty." I quote from sports writer Raymond Smith's account of the 1969 All-Ireland Football Final. Johnny had just captained ... more»


The Committed Kerry Supporter

The waiting is over. It is almost five  months since the team wearing green and gold last took the field. The All-Ireland Final of September 20 2009 seems a long time ago but the winter was   shorter ... more»


A Kerry Soldier Of World War One

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year 1918,  the First World War finally came to an end. Thousands of Irishmen died in this war and among them was my uncle, Patrick O'Sullivan ... more»


The 1958 County Championship - A Cavan man in Kerry

My friend Al O'Donoghue is one of a rare breed-a Cavanman with a Kerry senior county championship medal in the proverbial back pocket. Al came to Kerry to work as a teacher in the CBS Cahersiveen in September 1957.He ... more»


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