Championship

The O Se brothers make history

July 29th, 2014
by Sylvester Hennessy

 When Marc O'Sé runs out onto the pitch in Croke Park on Sunday next he will complete one of the most remarkable records in the history of the GAA. This will be Marc's 77th senior championship appearance for Kerry in a glittering career that has spanned 13 seasons. In doing so he joins his brothers Darragh and Tomás at the top of the all time list of championship appearances for Kerry. It's almost impossible to comprehend how this proud trio of siblings have risen to the top of the rankings after more than 125 years of Kerry competing in senior championship football. In that period of time thousands of proud men have worn the green and gold with great distinction but none have done so on more occasions that the three modern day Laochs, the O'Sé brothers from Ard an Bhothair, Ceann Trá. While the GAA has no internal record of championship appearances it also appears that this is National record. We have trawled the country looking at the top appearances in each county and it appears that three O'Sé brothers also top the all time list of appearances in the history of the GAA. We pose the question to all of the other 31 counties in Ireland - Has any other player in the history of the All Ireland Senior Football Championship made more appearances than the three O'Sé brothers. We suspect the answer is no. John O'Leary, the former Dublin keeper made 70 championship appearances, but as of now we know of no other player who has broken the 70 championship appearances barrier bar 5 Kerry men, the three O'Sé's, Tom O'Sullivan and Colm Cooper. In this feature the O'Sé's former team mate Micheál Quirke pays tribute to the three brothers and we also take a look at each player's individual records and assess their position in the list of all time great Kerry footballers.

Darragh O'Sé
Profile
Age 39
Senior Career: 1994-2009 (16 championship seasons)
Senior Appearances: 81 (scored 1-30)
All Ireland senior medals: 6
League Appearances: 96 (scored 1-26)
National League medals: 3
All Stars: 4
All Ireland u21: 2
Railway Cup: 1
Senior County Championships: 2
Munster Club Championship: 1
Senior Club: 3
Intermediate Club: 1
Junior Club: 1

The second eldest of the four O'Sé brothers (were it not for injury their eldest brother Fergal would no doubt have gone on to play many times for Kerry also) Darragh blazed a trail for his younger brothers. At the tender age of 19 he made his Kerry debut and by the time Tomás had made his senior championship debut in 1998 Darragh had won his first Senior All Ireland medal in 1997 under the management of their uncle the late great Paidí O'Sé. Darragh went on to become the top midfielder of his generation. He gathered a second All Ireland senior medal in 2000 with Tomás at his side. In 2002 Darragh captained Kerry but suffered the crushing loss of his father Micheál. By that time all three brothers were now on the starting 15 but Darragh also had to deal with the disappointment of a one point All Ireland Final loss to Armagh. The three brothers also suffered an All Ireland club loss to Caltra in 2004 but better days lay ahead. Kerry reached 6 All Ireland finals on the trot winning four. It is no coincidence that Kerry have not won an All Ireland since Darragh retired back in 2009. His on field leadership, physical presence and wonderful fielding ability were Darragh's most outstanding traits. Christened the 'Fear Laidir' by his manager of the time Jack O'Connor Darragh's relentless pursuit of success for his beloved Kerry will live long in the memory of everyone who witnessed him playing the game.   

Tomás O'Sé
Profile
Age 36
Senior Career: 1998-2013 (16 championship seasons)
Senior Appearances: 88 (scored 3-35)
All Ireland senior medals: 5
League Appearances: 90 (scored 2-32)
National League medals: 3
All Stars: 5
All Ireland u21: 1
Senior County Championships: 2
Munster Club Championship: 1
Railway Cup: 1
Senior Club: 3
Intermediate Club: 1
Texaco Footballer of the Year: 2009
All Star Footballer of the Year: 2004

To many Tomás was the best attacking half back of all time and if a greatest football team of all time were picked right now Tomás O'Sé would be an automatic choice for the number 5 jersey. It was a number that the school teacher wore with great pride for 16 championship seasons. He now sits proudly atop the list of all time senior championship appearances with an incredible tally of 88. Supporters will best remember Tomás for his attacking prowess. He scored an incredible 3-35 from the half position and was renowned for his point scoring ability as well as his ability to link defence and attack. Tomás may not have always received the credit he deserved as a defender however and year in year out he marked man after man out of the game. Tomás has gone on now to become a highly regarded analyst with the Sunday Game on RTE. While Kerry supporters still miss the dashing wing back on the field of play Tomás' presence on our TV screens throughout the summer has softened the blow somewhat. Upon his retirement last year current Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice probably summed up the renowned wing back's contribution the best. "In many ways Tomás epitomised everything that Kerry football is all about. His commitment, determination and never say die attitude were plainly visible every time he took to the pitch. He was a warrior. He also had a game changing ability and instinctively knew when one of his trademark bursts from defence culminating in a score was required."       

Marc O'Sé
Profile
Age 34
Senior Career: 2002-Present (13 championship seasons)
Senior Appearances: 77 (scored 3-35)
All Ireland senior medals: 5
League Appearances: 90 (scored 2-32)
National League medals: 3
All Stars: 5
All Ireland u21: 1
Senior County Championships: 2
Munster Club Championship: 1
Senior Club: 3
Intermediate Club: 1
Texaco Footballer of the Year: 2007

The 'baby' of the four O'Sé siblings Marc was a late starter and did not break into the Kerry Senior panel until the age of 22 in 2002. It's hard to fathom now but at the time many felt that the youngest of the O'Sé clan was only playing because his uncle Paidí was the manager at the time. Marc quickly established himself however and after a series of impressive displays and went on to be widely acclaimed as the beast corner back of his generation. Marc probably lacked the required physical strength early on in senior career but his dedication to his county was apparent from the off. He has spent the past 12 years honing his body, skills and astute football brain to become the complete modern day footballer. Both Marc and Colm Cooper made their championship debuts together in 2002 and in those following 12 seasons Marc only missed two championship games for Kerry while Cooper missed none. In 2014 Cooper's long term injury meant that Marc will overtake his great friend in the all time list of appearances on Sunday. Those of us who have the pleasure of watching Marc in West Kerry championships in the height winter can testify to his true ability as a footballer. In one match last year Marc lined out at centre forward against Annascaul. After 10 minutes of play he had score 1-2. The first was a long point off his left, his second score was piledriver to the roof of the net and the third scored was a '45. While Marc will forever be remembered as a great corner back he will be remembered by those who know him best as one of the greatest all round footballers of all time.   

Kerry's Top 10 Senior Championship Appearances of All Time
1 Tomás O'Sé        88
2 Darragh O'Sé        81
3 Marc O'Sé        77
4 Tom O'Sullivan    76
4 Colm Cooper        76
6 Eoin Brosnan        69
7 Declan O'Sullivan    67
8 Dan O'Keeffe        66
9 Seamus Moynihan    61
10 Aidan O'Mahony    59                 



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