Darragh Ó Sé (born 5 March 1975 in Ard an Bhóthair, Ventry, County Kerry) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer.
He plays with his local club, An Ghaeltacht, and was a member at senior level of the Kerry county team from 1997 until he announced his retirement in early 2010.
Tralee-based club Austin Stack's provided the opposition on this occasion; however, Ó Sé's side were well prepared.
[3] An Ghaeltacht surrendered their club title in 2002; however, the following year Ó Sé's side were back in the county championship decider.
A close game developed, however, the Kerrymen held on in the end to secure a 1–8 to 1–6 victory, giving Ó Sé a Munster club winners' medal.
Dara Ó Cinnéide faced the heartbreak of missing a goal in the dying seconds as an Ghaeltacht lost out by just a single point – 0–13 to 0–12.
Ó Sé first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kerry minor football team in the early 1990s.
Expectations were high that 'the Kingdom' could defeat 'the Rebels' and break back into the big time after a three-year period in the wilderness.
A 0–14 to 0–11 victory gave Ó Sé his first Munster winners' medal in the senior grade and kick-started the Kerry football revival.
The team reached the final of the National League that year with Cork providing the opposition in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
For the third year in succession 'the Kingdom' proved the provincial masters, and a 0–17 to 1–10 win gave Ó Sé a third Munster title.
Galway worked the ball the length of the field to Declan Meehan who scored a goal to give the westerners a boost.
An exciting draw and a replay with Dublin at Semple Stadium gave Ó Sé's side the right to advance to an All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Meath.
In one of the lowest points ever for Kerry football, Ó Sé's side were beaten by 'the Royals' on a score line of 2–14 to 0–5.
The Ulster men lost John McEntee to concussion while Oisín McConville missed a penalty just before the interval.
Many criticised this tactic as a means of stopping talented footballers like Ó Sé and Colm Cooper from playing but few could deny its effectiveness.
[18] The All-Ireland series proved no difficulty for Kerry; however, Ó Sé picked up an injury in the semi-final which ruled him out of the final against Mayo.
Following this win Kerry cruised through the All-Ireland series to reach another championship decider with Tyrone providing the opposition.
Ó Sé's side could only manage three points in the opening half; however, the introduction of Eoin Brosnan transformed the team.
At half-time it looked as though the Ulser hoodoo would strike again but Kerry blitzed the men from the orchard county in the second half with Ó Sé dominating midfield while Kieran Donaghy shone at full-forward.
They won by a score of 3–15 to 1–13, in the process putting paid to the notion that Kerry had no answer to the northern style of defensive play.
Ó Sé spent much of the game on the bench after picking up a hip injury, however, he was introduced as a substitute to help Kerry see off a Dublin comeback and win by two points.
The subsequent All-Ireland final was an historic occasion as Kerry faced Cork in the very first all-Munster championship decider.
All did not go to plan as Ó Sé's side lost team captain Paul Galvin to suspension after an incident with referee Paddy Russell in the Munster semi-final against Clare.
'The Rebels' fought back and, in a massive downpour, Kerry could only muster three points in the second period of play as Cork secured a remarkable 1–16 to 1–11 victory.
'The Kingdom' were much better in this encounter; however, Ó Sé received a straight red card for an incident with Pearse O'Neill once again.
[27] While many thought that the All-Ireland defeat would finally signal the end of Ó Sé's long career, he rejoined the panel again in 2009.
Ó Sé and his squad later lined out in the All-Ireland quarter-final and thrashed Dublin before overcoming Meath in a disappointing semi-final.
Ó Sé added that he would continue to play with his club An Ghaeltacht and his divisional side Ciarraí Thiar.
After a few disappointing seasons where Ó Sé failed to be picked or faced defeat, Munster were back in the final again in 1999.