27-07-2025
Dáithí Ó Sé loves all things Donegal
TV presenter Dáithí Ó Sé has spoken of the natural kinship between Kerry and Donegal folk, as the two Gaeltacht strongholds do battle in the All-Ireland Final today.
And the Kerry native said he can only dream of being as popular as one of Donegal's most famous sons. Ó Sé told he has 'always had a soft spot for Donegal and the people of Donegal', and recalled the last championship final involving the counties in 2014, when they both contested the minor final too.
'There were people from Donegal next to me and a Kerry friend of mine [in Croke Park],' the broadcaster remembered.
'But we had a few pints together after the minor match we had a few pints at half time in the senior game, and we had a few pints after as well. 2014 GAA Football All Ireland Senior Championship Final, Kerry v Donegal. Pic: Pat Murphy / SPORTSFILE
'So the two bunches of supporters, they're probably unique in that they really get on well together and there's a huge amount of respect between the two teams and their supporters.'
Kerry came out on top in both games that day, the Donegal seniors unable to reproduce the heroics that had brought them a second-ever All-Ireland title two years earlier.
Ó Sé said his wife Rita once asked him, as he set off to an event in Tír Chonaill, if 'people in Donegal love you the way people in Kerry love Daniel [O'Donnell]?'
The Rose of Tralee host laughed that his answer was: 'I would love to think someday that I'd reach that level of admiration – in any county.' While the 'final that loads of people have been waiting for' is too tight to call, Dáithí is predicting a 39th title for Kerry after a 'cracker' of a game. 'I think Kerry's last two games [convincing wins over old foes Armagh and Tyrone] will really stand to them,' he reasoned. Pic: Instagram/ Daithi O'Se
'What I was really impressed with after two really, really hard games was that they were still full of energy. There was no one cramping.
'They're a very slick-looking outfit at the moment. Now, Donegal are exactly the same, but I just think Kerry will have an edge on them.'
The presenter is no relation to his county men Páidí, Darragh, Tomás and Marc Ó Sé, the An Ghaeltacht dynasty with 24 All-Ireland inter county medals between them.
But he is related to another An Ghaeltacht man who starts for Kerry today.
Half-back Brian Ó Beaglaoich – who was full-back during that 2014 minor final against Donegal – is Ó Sé's second cousin once removed. Croke Park. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
He said of Ó Beaglaoich: 'He'll go at it all day long. He's not afraid to go forward as well and break through. Just a fantastic footballer.'
And the 49-year-old Today presenter said recent talk of Kerry pundits – and their famously demanding supporters – being too quick to get on the team's back is just 'par for the course'.
He said: 'People have opinions, and they have opinions because they love it.
'Darragh Ó Sé [who criticised manager Jack O'Connor for not developing the squad] loves Kerry football.
'Jack O'Connor [who shot back that the former midfielder would 'be better off doing a bit of coaching himself'] loves Kerry football. And the love for Kerry football is what unites people at the end of it.
'But I think that has shown Kerry's strength this year – that [criticism] has been happening in the background, people were unhappy with the way they were playing, and then they come out and they blow Armagh and Tyrone out of the water.'
Aside from their similarly rugged coastlines, strong Gaeltacht traditions and long journeys to Croke Park, Kerry and Donegal even have the same flag, and their strip was virtually identical for most of the GAA's history.
Donegal favoured a mostly green jersey with a gold hoop in the centre right up to the 1990s. After beating Mayo in the 1992 All-Ireland semi-final in a mostly yellow strip – worn to avoid a colour clash – Donegal decided to stick with that winning kit in their first-ever final, against Dublin.
Since then they have favoured a mainly yellow jersey with green sleeves and trim.
