Sligo's greatest GAA player to be honoured at special function
Wednesday January 13 2010
One of Sligo's greatest footballers of all time, the legendary Mickey Kearins, is to be honoured by his local club, St. Patrick's, Dromard.
Plans are under way for a special function in the Sligo Park Hotel on February 6th to celebrate and pay tribute to the outstanding career of one of the true icons of Gaelic Games.
A measure of Kearins' standing among the greats of the game is his rating at number 17 on the Irish Independent's list of 125 GAA legends – the highest placing for a player who never won an All-Ireland medal.
Despite playing for a county which didn't figure regularly in the race for national and provincial honours, the mercurial Kearins made a stunning impact during a highly distinguished playing career, achieving many notable scoring feats for Sligo and Connacht as well as for his beloved St. Pat's, and thrilling GAA fans all over the country with his amazing artistry and explosive scoretaking from frees and from play.
Incredibly, he won only one All-Star award, in 1971, the first year of the awards scheme, but his exceptional talent was widely recognised, especially by his fellow players, many of whom regularly went on record to express their admiration for the brilliant Sligoman.
Kearins played minor football for Sligo in 1960 and made his senior debut in a National Football League game against Cavan the following year. He represented the county in three grades, minor, junior and senior, in 1961 and made his senior Championship debut against Mayo the following year.
During the course of a seventeen years senior intercounty career, Kearins established himself as one of the greatest exponents of Gaelic football, playing thirty Championship games for Sligo, clocking up a remarkable scoring tally of five goals and 167 points. When League games are taken into account, his prolific scoring ability is further underlined with his total career scoring record standing at an amazing 36 goals and 1,158 points. Included in these sensational statistics were several outstanding individual match totals – 13 points in a Championship match against Galway in 1971 and 14 points against Mayo the following year.
He played 22 times for Connacht over 13 successive seasons, recording a number of notable scoring feats for the Province.
Kearins' record at club level was equally as impressive. He won seven senior championship medals, five senior League medals and two junior Championship medals during his career.
- Leo Gray
