Séamus Darby

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Séamus Darby
Personal information
Irish name Séamus Ó Darbaig
Born 1950 (age 71–72)
Rhode, County Offaly, Ireland
Club(s)
Years Club
 Rhode
Edenderry
Borrisokane
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
 Offaly
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles 3
All-Irelands 3

Séamus Darby (born 1950, Rhode, County Offaly) is an Irish former Gaelic football player.[1]

Darby is best remembered for scoring an unexpected late goal that deprived Kerry of a 5-in-a-row in the 1982 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[1] In 2005, it was voted the third greatest moment in GAA history.

Playing career[]

During his footballing career, Darby won Leinster Senior Football Championship titles with Offaly in 1972, 1973 and 1982, playing in various forward positions. He won his second All-Ireland medal in 1972 when Offaly defeated Kerry in the final.[1] He had been an unused substitute in the 1971 final v Galway,[1] Offaly's first-ever win. He was dropped from the county panel after the 1976 season.[1]

Darby was recalled to the Offaly team for the 1982 Leinster final, playing full-forward against Dublin.[1] He pulled a hamstring in that match and missed the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway.[1] His replacement Johnny Mooney played well in that match so Darby was left on the bench for the final.[1]

The 1982 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was a repeat of the previous year's encounter and was also significant in that a win for Kerry would give them an unprecedented fifth All-Ireland Final victory in a row. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Darby — who had arrived on the field of play as a substitute, with instructions to stay forward and try for a goal — got behind his marker Tommy Doyle,[1] caught a "high, lobbing, dropping ball", and scored one of the most famous goals of all time. It was his only kick of the match.[1] Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one single point with a score of 1–15 to 0–17.

In 2005, Darby's goal against Kerry was voted third in a poll to find the Top 20 GAA Moments.

The expression "to do a Séamus Darby" has been used in other fields.[2]

Darby's last match for Offaly was the Leinster semi-final against Dublin in 1984.[1] He played club football for Rhode till 1986.[1] He later played for Edenderry in 1989, and for Borrisokane in County Tipperary in 1991.[1]

Later life[]

The 1982 All-Ireland and Darby's part in it received renewed attention in 2010 when the Kilkenny hurlers were aiming to complete their own five-in-a-row, also never realised.[3]

Darby was interviewed for the documentary Players of the Faithful.[4] This aired in 2018 when Dublin's footballers had just won their fourth consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and would be bidding for their fifth in 2019.[5]

An episode of Laochra Gael dedicated to his life first aired on TG4 in 2019.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Séamus, Darby; O'Sullivan, Eamon (April 1998). "Terrace Talk" (RealMedia). Radio Kerry (Interview). Interviewed by Weeshie Fogarty. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
  2. ^ Gorman, Tommie (24 October 2019). "The DUP do a 'Seamus Darby' on Boris". RTÉ News.
  3. ^ Breheny, Martin (17 September 2010). "1982: Kerry stunned as Darby derails the Drive for Five". Irish Independent.
  4. ^ "Players of the Faithful".
  5. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (19 December 2018). "New documentary to look back at Offaly's famous All-Ireland win that ended Kerry's five-in-a-row dream: Players of the Faithful will be broadcast on RTÉ One on 28 December". The42.ie. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  6. ^ Farrell, Sinead (22 February 2019). "'He sat in front of me and said, 'Since when did you start worrying about your wife?" - Darby". The42.ie. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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