Kerry football legend Johnny Culloty dies aged 88

Kerry football giant Johnny Culloty has passed away at the age of 88.

The five-time All-Ireland senior football championship winner was a considerable dual inter-county player but remembered more for his feats as a football goalkeeper.

The Killarney Legion man won his first senior All-Ireland as a corner-forward in 1955 when he scored a goal in the semi-final against Cavan and was part of the team that defeated Dublin in the final.

He didn’t feature in the Kerry team again until 1959 when he was between the posts for their final victory over Galway, featuring in a team including Mick O’Connell, Mick O’Dwyer and Tom Long.

Culloty and the Kingdom lost to Down at the ultimate stage in 1960 and ’61 before they landed an All-Ireland title against Roscommon in 1962. It was Galway’s turn to be the bane of Kerry between 1963 and ‘65 and Culloty had to wait until ’69 for his fourth Celtic Cross when he was captain. A fourth came soon after when Meath were defeated in the 1970 final.

His senior inter-county career concluded in 1971 by which time he had secured 12 Munster SFC medals, eight of them in a row between 1958 and ’65, and five Division 1 titles.

As manager from 1972 to ’74 before being succeeded by O’Dwyer, Culloty guided Kerry to back-to-back Division 1 successes. Under his stewardship, Kerry claimed a provincial title in ’72 but lost out to Offaly in the All-Ireland final after a replay.

With his club, Culloty claimed four East Kerry titles and was part of the divisional team that achieved four county senior championships and two Munsters. He was also part of the Kerry junior hurling team that won the 1961 All-Ireland and before that annexed a junior football crown in ‘54.

Speaking in 2004, Culloty ranked his county senior hurling success with Killarney as the highlight of his career. “I played from 1951 until the early 80s and the high point for us was winning the county senior hurling championship with Killarney in 1969. To me that would be just as important as captaining Kerry to win an All-Ireland.”

Known as a humble man, Culloty was part of Jack O’Connor’s management team between 2004 and ’06 during which time the county lifted the Sam Maguire Cup on two occasions.

In his book Keys to the Kingdom, O’Connor credited the expertise of Culloty, describing him as “a father figure to me, a living connection to the great Kerry coach, Dr Eamonn O'Sullivan." O'Connor added: "When he tells me to do something, I do it."

As O'Connor recalled, victory was never enough for the Legion man. "Johnny said when he was involved with me in 2004: 'Jack, not only have you to win in Kerry, but you have to win in style'".

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