Páidí Ó Sé
A fiery, relentless wing-back for Kerry, he was the combative heart of a team that dominated Gaelic football in the 1970s and 80s.
1955–2012 (age 57)·Kerry Gaelic footballer and manager·Birthday: May 16·Baby Boomers
Biography
Páidí Ó Sé played half-back for Kerry from 1974 to 1988, collecting eight All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals. Born in Ventry on the Dingle Peninsula, he brought fierce physicality and sharp game-reading to the position. He broke up opposition attacks and launched counteroffensives that fueled Kerry's golden era. After retiring, Ó Sé managed the Kerry senior team, winning All-Ireland titles in 1997 and 2000. He also managed Westmeath and served as a selector for the Ireland international rules team. His style defined a generation of Gaelic football defenders. Ó Sé died suddenly in December 2012 at age 57. Thousands attended his funeral in Ventry. He had also won 11 Munster championships and five National League titles as a player, and was named Texaco Footballer of the Year in 1985.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Páidí was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Páidí Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Páidí's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2012Died at 57
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
Key Achievements
- Won eight All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals as a player with Kerry, a testament to his era's dominance.
- Captained Kerry to an All-Ireland title in 1985, leading the team from his defensive position.
- Later managed the Kerry senior team to two All-Ireland titles in 1997 and 2000.
- Won eleven Munster Senior Football Championship medals during his inter-county playing career.
Did You Know?
He was part of a famous Gaelic football dynasty; his nephews Darragh, Tomás, and Marc Ó Sé also starred for Kerry.
After retirement, he ran a famous pub in Ventry, County Kerry, which became a pilgrimage site for GAA fans.
He was a primary school teacher by profession outside of his sporting life.
“You can't put manners on a Kerryman.”
