The death has taken place of an Offaly football hero from the all important break through years in the early '60s.
Daingean's Peter Carey died recently and his contribution during those seismic years, when Offaly finally emerged from the doldrums, is fondly remembered.
Peter Carey was a very effective and hard working full forward on the Offaly team that finally ended years of misery and heart break by winning the Leinster Senior Football Championship for the first time in 1960.
He played very well in Offaly's Leinster final win over Louth and that win was the start of an incredible twenty five years that saw Offaly win the Leinster Senior Football Championship another eight times, All-Ireland senior football titles in 1971, 1972 and 1982 and an All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final in 1964.
The importance of the 1960 break through to those success has been appropriately acknowledged and Peter Carey played a very important part in those years. Offaly were beaten by Down in the 1960 All-Ireland semi-final and a year later they were pipped by the northerners in a famous All-Ireland final played in front of a record crowd at Croke Park.
Peter Carey was a sub in 1961 while he also gave huge service to his beloved Daingean. He played most of his football at midfield and was outstanding as they won the Intermediate Football Championship in 1954 while they were beaten by Rhode in the senior football final a year later. In 1962, Peter was also in fine form as Daingean defeated Killeigh by 207 to 0-12 in the Senior Football Championship. In 1965, he was again an instrumental figure as Daingean won the Senior Football Championship for the last time, beating Gracefield by three points in the final.
A very popular man, he was very well respected and his death was greeted with great sadness.
He played football from 1948 to 1967 and a couple of years ago, he featured on a questionnaire on the Daingean GAA website answering the following question:

Favoured position - Centre field;
Greatest ever performance by a team mate- Jody Hickey:
Were you in favour- Joe Timmons, Dublin.
Best player you played with - Tom Greene;
Greatest sporting achievement- Winning the 1962 Senior Championship'
Biggest disappointment - Losing to Rhode in the 1955 Senior final.
Most memorable game you played in - Toussup between winning the junior final in 1953 (Note, a perusal of the records suggests that this refers to the IFC final in 1954 as the Junior Championship did not take place from 1945 to 1955) and the senior in '62.
Best manager you ever played under- Fr Doran and Fr Conlon.
If there was anything you could change about the game today, what would it be?- The handpass.
Best team you ever played in - The 1962 senior team.
Sporting idol when young- Mick Higgins of Cavan.
Fastest player to have played for Daingean while you were playing- Michael Gavin, Little Island.
Earliest sporting memory- Daingean v Edenderry in the late '40s.
Best player you ever played who never played for his county -Daingean's Willie Greene;
Would you be in favour of a parish team? - Yes;
Best free taker you ever played with- Leo Magill.
May he rest in peace.

Courtesy of the Midland Tribune
7th April 2011. Tweet

Most Read Stories