Death of Armagh football great Brian Seeley
August 28, 2024
Armagh beaten by Kerry in the 1953 All Ireland Final
Back row - G Murphy, P O'Neill, J Bratton, P McCreesh, G Wilson, B Seeley, M O'Hanlon, J McKnight, J Cunningham, M McEvoy, J McBreen, W McCorry.
Front row - G Morgan, G McStay, I Henderson, G O'Neill, A O'Hagan, S Quinn, E McMahon, F Kernan, J O'Hare, P Campbell, P Murphy.
The funeral takes place this morning of Brian Seeley, the great Clan na Gael and Armagh footballer.
Affectionately known as ‘Ceasar’, Brian was the youngest member of the Orchard County team which lost the 1953 All-Ireland SFC final to Kerry, being just 18 at the time and lining out at centre forward. He went on to enjoy a stellar career as both a player and manager of his beloved Clan na Gael. He became manager of the Lurgan club in 1972 and led them to three successive Ulster Club SFC titles.
In a heartfelt tribute, Brian’s club said: “With an emphasis on fitness, basic skills and close passing, he led his club to eight county finals, winning five, to five Ulster Club finals, winning three-in-a-row in 1972-74, but his biggest disappointment was losing a replayed All-Ireland Club final to UCD in 1974, having beaten UCC in the semi-final. The unfairness was summed up by captain, John Green, who said that ‘UCD had the pick of all Ireland, while most of our team came from five streets in Shankill estate.’
“He retired from management in 1979 and spent his following years watching his beloved Clans as an interested spectator, never slow to give advice, especially when his grandson, Michael Austin, took over the senior team in 2016 for a few seasons. He delighted in their wins over the following years, especially at underage level. After Armagh collected the Sam Maguire for the first time in 2002, in 2004 he watched with delight as his other grandson, Ronan Austin, helped Armagh to an Ulster and All-Ireland U21 title.
“Only last week, he was visited by Stefan Campbell, Shane McParland and Jimmy Smyth with the Sam Maguire, where he was photographed with his entire family.”
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