Sean Ferriter (born 15 September 1938)[2] is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team.[3] His position was in midfield (though he did play as a goalkeeper for his school).[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Born | (1938-09-15) 15 September 1938 (age 83) | ||
| Occupation |
Garda[1] Solicitor[1] | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
19??–? | St Eunan's | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Donegal titles | 3 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1957–19?? | Donegal | ||
Born in Milford, County Donegal, his parents were Garda Morgan (from West Kerry) and Tess (from Baltray in County Louth).[2] He was one of six children: four sons and two daughters.[2] He attended Dunfanaghy National School for his primary education.[2] For his secondary education, Ferriter attended St Eunan's College as a boarder, playing for the school team (as a goalkeeper) and being greatly influenced by John Wilson, the Gaelic footballer and future Tánaiste who was teaching there at that time.[2][4]
Ferriter played for the Donegal team that won the 1956 Ulster Minor Football Championship.[2] He made his senior debut for Donegal in 1957 against Tyrone at the age of 18.[2]
He captained the Donegal team that overcame Cavan in the 1963 Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final, thus earning his team a place in the final for the first time.[2]
He played for Donegal in the 1964–65 National Football League semi-final against Kerry.[5]
He won three Donegal Senior Football Championships with his club St Eunan's.[2] He also played for Ulster in the Railway Cup,[6] with whom he won two titles.[2]
A former Garda, Ferriter served for a time in Dublin.[1] His experience of Dublin proved invaluable to Brian McEniff when Donegal qualified for the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final — against Dublin.[2]
Ferriter later studied law and qualified as a solicitor, practising in the Dublin suburb of Blanchardstown.[1]
He met his wife Mary, originally from Thurles, while she was working as a civil servant in Dublin (where Ferriter was at the time based as a Garda); she predeceased him.[2] He has eight children.[2] One of his sons, Paul, is a sculptor.[1]
In 2001, the Donegal Democrat included Ferriter in a Millennium Team.[2]
In May 2012, the Irish Independent named him in its selection of Donegal's "greatest team" spanning the previous 50 years.[7]
In 2020, he was announced as the 44th inductee into the Donegal Sports Star Awards Hall of Fame Award.[2]
In an earlier life, I reported on Sean Ferriter playing Gaelic football for Donegal. His son's early sporting memories, however, were all about golf... Born in Letterkenny in December 1967, Paul Ferriter moved as a boy to Dublin where his father was transferred as a member of An Garda Siochana. Now the father is a solicitor in Blanchardstown, having gone back to college to study law.
Donegal – 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions (1st title) | |
|---|---|
The Man in Dublin: S. Ferriter |