Dermot Earley Snr RIP

[SambaSaffron]

RIP Condolences from all Antrim gaels.

[the Deel Rover]

Today FM confirmed it about 20 minutes ago. First of all sympathies to his wife, children, family etc who had the hateful experience of witnessing a man of such mental and physical prowess succumb so quickly to this illness.

Like all Rossies in their late 30s onwards I grew up wanting to be that man. I first watched him play in the late 70s. By then he's been playing for a decade having played minor, u-21 & senior for the county in the same year. He won an u-21 AI medal in the mid 60s, 5 connacht seniors, an NFL in '79 and 2 Allstars. More than all that though he won universal respect as a footballer and a person throughout the entire country.

Dermot embodied a decency and honour that was linked to the past. The primrose and blue of Roscommon and Green, white and gold of the national flag clearly meant so much to him and he seemed aware of the responsibility of never tarnishing either during his football and army career.

The man had so much presence. Powerful, athletic build. Jet black hair. Ramrod straight military stance particularly evident during national anthems or when he was squaring up to a free. The complete footballer. He could soar like an eagle for a high ball, solo through a defence like a bull dozer, kick with both feet and was a prolific free taker.

So many memories..... the one Muppet just mentioned. That was was his last match. The 1985 connacht final. The mayo players did indeed shoulder his off the pitch. A sporting gesture that was unheard of by the mid 80s. His last act before the final whistle was to clip a 14 yard free over the bar. The score had no bearing on the result but everyone present knew the future historical significance of it. In the match leading up to it v Galway he gave an epic display at wing forward in his 37th year. At one stage he caught a ball over his head with one hand . The late Enda Colleran drew great attention to it that night on the sunday game. He broke his jaw in that match and went iff to a standing ovation from both sets of supporters. I remember him fighing to keep our hopes alive in the 2nd half of the 19080 final when he was marking a young jacko. He buried the late great Tim Kennelly with a shoulder in that match that Aldridge pulled him up for. Summed up that day. "The fear of losing overcame the desire to win" was Earley's apt take on Roscommon's agonising lossthat day after such a great start. His last chance to win the celtic cross he so deserved. I rember him being shouldered off by jubilant supporters after the '79 league win over Cork. later that year they lost the all ireland semi by a point versus the Dubs. I clearly remember Bernard brogan senior taking off on a solo run only for Dermot to cleanly snatch the ball off him from behind without touching him and taking off on a solo run of his own in the opposite direction. If anyone goes to u-tube and looks up great gaa goals they will see the rocket he fired in against galway in the '81 league final.

he was so far aheadd of his time in terms of his fitness and how he looked after himself. He practiced the skilss of the game tirelessly. He played 20 years intercounty footballl. Then managed Kildare and Ross. His army career gave all people hwo supported him as a player so much pride. He was also a very proud connacht man as anyone who heard him speak about provincial pride will recall dureing his time with the united nations in new york.


Despite all the above he remained a complete gentleman who had time for evryone. True Gael, patriot & legend. RIP. We will never see his like again.

A great post ross matt , i was at that connacht final with my dad when dermot was shouldered off the pitch, i can't recall ever seen a similiar jesture done since by opposing players which shows you how well thought of Dremat Earley was .
May he Rest in Peace

[muppet]

Whoever said 'you should never meet your heros' obviously hadn't Dermot in mind!

Succinct epitaph.

Of all of the nice comments here that seems the most fitting.

[moysider]

This is a sad loss. Dermot Early was a very reassuring presence to have around - even when he was beating the bejaysus out of your team.

The Hyde in 85 was the first time I ever saw Mayo beat Roscommon in championship. What was remarkable in those years of defeat was the respect - indeed fondness - we all felt for the man that did more than most to make our football lives a misery. I remember Eugene Lavin and Willie Joe, I think it was, carrying him shoulder high from the pitch on the Athlone Road side. I was just after invading the playing area there and it was a special moment.

Top player. I ve thought about this and I m convinced he was the most complete player I ve seen play. Older people compared him favorably with Purcell and Carney as an all rounder. He could catch, carry, kick with both feet and score and kick frees from the ground. Throw in great temperament, courage, leadership and discipline and you had some player.

Condolences to all belonging to him. Roscommon people can always be proud of him.

[Donnellys Hollow]

KFM tribute programme:

http://www.kfmradio.com/kfm-podcasting/sport-podcasts.html

[GalwayBayBoy]

RIP Dermot. He was slightly before my time but my old fella always said he was one of the all-time greats. Nice piece in the paper today.

FORMER Galway midfielder Billy Joyce tells a story of his first encounter with Dermot Earley, which encapsulates the quality of sportsmanship that ran through everything Earley did during a 20-year career with Roscommon.

It was the summer of 1969 and, although still only 21 years old, Earley was already a household name, having established himself as a senior inter-county and interprovincial star.

Joyce was on the Galway U-21 team and some weeks before the Connacht final, John 'Tull' Dunne -- then 'Mr Football' in the county -- came to him and said: "You'll be marking a young fella who's as good as anything I've ever seen. Get ready for him."

Conscious of the challenge which lay ahead, Joyce trained on 22 successive evenings for the big clash with Earley and did extremely well against him in a game that finished level. Roscommon won the replay after extra-time and, as a forlorn Joyce sat on the pitch afterwards, he was joined by Earley.

"He sat down beside me, said we should have won the game and chatted on about it and little things that had gone on. It wasn't just idle talk and I knew straight away there was something fierce genuine about him.

"As he got up to walk away, he turned and said with a smile on his face, 'By the way, I don't want to see you in a Galway jersey ever again'."

It was the start of a 15-year playing rivalry and a friendship which lasted ever since. The warmth and affection with which Joyce speaks of Earley is reflected all over the country but then he made a big impression on everybody he met on and off the field.

Having served his time as player, manager and administrator at various times with the Michael Glavey's club, Roscommon, Sarsfields (Newbridge) and Kildare, he maintained a huge interest in young people.

Despite his busy Army schedule in recent years, he would always take time out to address parents at Sarsfields, especially those interested in helping out as coaches. By way of impressing the need to master every skill, he usually told the story of how his father, Peadar, a founder of Michael Glavey's in the 1950s, had a cunning method of encouraging his son to practise.

He would promise to join Dermot for a kickaround in the garden once he could kick the ball properly with his weaker left foot, which prompted long hours of work out in the fields. He would always impress to young and old alike how important it was to practise the kicking skills of the game with both feet. His talks would inevitably end with the need to respect young talent: "Mol an Oige agus Tiocfaidh Si."

It's rare for any player to have earned such widespread and genuine respect nationally, but then Earley was the consummate sportsman. There wasn't a mean sinew in his body and even when faced with cynical opposition, he regarded good discipline as a matter of honour.

distraught

Unsurprisingly then, he was very upset when, for the only time in his career, he was harshly dismissed in a NFL game against Dublin in 1975. He was distraught, but could see the funny side of it later when a dispute arose over whether he was eligible to travel with the All Stars because of the dismissal.

As the GAA considered the situation, he received a telegram from John Kerry O'Donnell -- the top power broker in New York GAA. Addressed to 'Dermot Earley, Croke Park, Dublin' it read: "Cordial invitation hereby extended to Dermot Earley to travel with the All Stars. All expenses paid by me. Red-blooded men always welcome in Gaelic Park."

Almost every reference to Earley mentions him as one of the best players who never won an All-Ireland senior medal, and while he was deeply disappointed to have missed out -- especially in 1980 -- it in no way detracted from the majesty of what he achieved.

While the All-Ireland medal may have eluded him, he gained so much honour, respect and admiration in a glorious career --both on and off the field -- that it counts as a far greater legacy than a medal locked away in some dusty drawer.

[jaykay]

Haven't logged on in a long time but had to to express my condolences to the great man.  I won't attempt to top Matts post, I don't think anyone can but will just add that Dermot was finishing his football carear as I was starting off as a youngster going to games.  I have a vague recolection of 1985 but have watched those YouTube clips that were mentioned earlier on many occasions and I cannot begin to tell you how much pride they have given me.  Perhaps one day we will get back to that level.

R.I.P. Dermot

[orangeman]

I liked this bit in today's Indo as above :


It's rare for any player to have earned such widespread and genuine respect nationally, but then Earley was the consummate sportsman. There wasn't a mean sinew in his body and even when faced with cynical opposition, he regarded good discipline as a matter of honour.



Unsurprisingly then, he was very upset when, for the only time in his career, he was harshly dismissed in a NFL game against Dublin in 1975. He was distraught, but could see the funny side of it later when a dispute arose over whether he was eligible to travel with the All Stars because of the dismissal.

As the GAA considered the situation, he received a telegram from John Kerry O'Donnell -- the top power broker in New York GAA. Addressed to 'Dermot Earley, Croke Park, Dublin' it read: "Cordial invitation hereby extended to Dermot Earley to travel with the All Stars. All expenses paid by me. Red-blooded men always welcome in Gaelic Park."

[Puckoon]

Some wonderful reading there Matt and GBB. Thanks, and RIP Dermot Early Snr.

[mjg]

Yesterday Roscommon lost there king, he was to us what ghandi was to the indians an mandela to the south africans. Heaven is a better place now

[RedandGreenSniper]

Superb piece by Liam Horan in today's Examiner. Does great justice to the late Dermot Earley.

http://www.examiner.ie/sport/gaa/dermot-earley-as-close-to-perfection-as-a-man-can-be-123213.html

Dermot Earley – as close to perfection as a man can be
By Liam Horan

Thursday, June 24, 2010

DERMOT EARLEY dashed our every childhood dream, and yet we can never recall feeling any resentment towards him.

Our memories now are of all those Mayo-Roscommon clashes of the late 1970s following a wearyingly familiar pattern: Mayo starting off all guns blazing, maybe a Joe McGrath goal to inspire hope we knew we shouldn't really entertain, and then the inevitable, inexorable Roscommon rally in the final ten minutes, leading to yet another forlorn journey home.

And, each time, Dermot Earley, bestriding McHale Park or Dr Hyde Park like a Boy's Own hero, so elegant he shouldn't be durable, so durable he shouldn't be elegant, a man as close to perfection as a man can be.

You watched intently his every move because everything he did transmitted a message: for Roscommon people, he was the very embodiment of their county.

Dermot Earley didn't just play for Roscommon: in an era when Roscommon had an outstanding team, Dermot Earley transcended all to achieve an iconic status that followed his name since his final day in 1985, and one which death will not diminish either.

Dermot Earley didn't just play for Roscommon.

Dermot Earley was Roscommon.

He was their timeless symbol of daring and defiance. Say the name out loud.

Der-mot Ear-ley! Those four syllables are simply magical, still.

For the rest of us, he was an inconquerable peak, a chilling reminder that though you hoped against hope, they still had Dermot Earley and you best be prepared for disappointment yet again.

Jet black hair, he stood tall and erect, an impossibly handsome Hollywood film star transported into our two-channel world.

In the parade, he marched properly. Old-style, proud, affording the occasion the respect he knew it deserved.

Going up for the toss, he shook firm hands with the opposing captain and the referee. There was never anything mediocre about Dermot Earley: he did everything the way it should be done.

Dermot Earley was conscious of the heritage of which he was a part, and he could never besmirch that tradition. He treated opponents with courtesy and respect. Trash talk and silly mind games were anathema to Dermot Earley: he was manly and fair.

His entire life could be characterised as incontrovertible proof that the concepts of manliness and fairness need not be mutually exclusive.

Leaping high, powering through the middle, racing back to avert a crisis: Dermot Earley did whatever had to be done, because, for all the glorious talents he possessed, he was the ultimate team player.

Meet any Roscommon person this week, and expect to find a tear in the eye. This death shakes the county to its core.

It wasn't just that he was their greatest player for half a century or more: it was that Dermot Earley was a rare type of hero.

He was utterly at one with his own people. He had a meaningful word for everyone. He genuinely believed in helping others.

There was never any discrimination in how he inter-acted with people: you were delighted to get a minute with him, but, yet, he was delighted to get a minute with you. Into every gathering, he injected a sense of nobility. We will never know how many people he consoled with a thoughtful visit or a kindly word.

Former colleagues have been utterly devastated by his sudden decline. Some I met not so long ago almost didn't want to talk about it. Dermot Earley is wrapped up in the memories of so many great days in their lives that the notion of him passing on so young is almost too much to bear.

They will turn in their thousands to lay him to rest. There will be nothing false about the outpouring.

When the time came just over three years ago to bury Jimmy Murray, Roscommon's All-Ireland captain of 1943 and '44, they turned to Dermot Earley to deliver the graveside oration: Dermot Earley was the most appropriate man to send a noble hero on his way.

"It was a privilege to have known him. People from all over Ireland asked about Jamesy when they knew you were from Roscommon," Dermot Earley told the gathering in Knockroghery's hillside graveyard that sunny January afternoon.

He might have been penning his own epitaph.

In 1985 Dermot Earley played his final game for Roscommon, on a losing Connacht final day. The significance of the occasion was not lost on the Mayo players, many of whom were almost 20 years his junior.

They set aside their own celebrations to carry him off the field on their shoulders in a powerful recognition of a wonderful man.

All who came into contact with Dermot Earley were enhanced by the experience.

He was the hero you were glad you met.

May be rest gently, one who led and inspired so many.





This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, June 24, 2010





Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/sport/gaa/dermot-earley-as-close-to-perfection-as-a-man-can-be-123213.html#ixzz0roDVCNA8

[Beard]

Joyce was on the Galway U-21 team and some weeks before the Connacht final, John 'Tull' Dunne -- then 'Mr Football' in the county -- came to him and said: "You'll be marking a young fella who's as good as anything I've ever seen. Get ready for him."

From what I know of JohnTull Dunne, involved with Galway at various levels for 40 or 50 years I think, thats high praise indeed.

[mayo51]

a true legend and gentleman and even tho he inflicted so many defeats on us in the seventies we had nothing but admiration and respect for the man in mayo .i had the great pleasure of playing football with the man many years ago and i will always treasure those memories.R.I.P DERMOT

[Turlough O Carolan]

We were very fortunate in Roscommon that just as Gerry O'Malley's long county career was coming to an end, along came Dermot Earley. Ros Matt and Liam Horan's wonderful pieces say it all. I still use the phrase: "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." Earley told a gang of us youngsters that out in a field one day many years ago as we were trying to execute a perfect footpass like only he could do. I never followed the advice, but I never forgot it either. He was also a great man for the stories. The mention of John Kerry O'Donnell sending an invite to Dermot Earley to join the All-Star tour probably followed an earlier incident in the 70s. Roscommon and Kerry had been invited out in the early 70s to compete in the Cardinal Cushing games. The players were put up in Manhattan college. It was an awful hot Summer and the players were dying with the heat and there was no air conditioner in the rooms. They were also supposed to get an allowance that was slow in the coming so they were short on money too. Some of them looked for alternative accommodation. When O'Donnell heard about the rumblings he got very annoyed and called the whole games off. The GAA asked Earley to intervene and after a conversation between the two, John Kerry O'Donnell said the games were back on, saying to Earley, "but only because it's yourself that asked."

Rest in Peace.

[Louth Exile]

RIP Dermot and condolences to the big mans family