'Fierce football man' Liam Kearns a huge loss to GAA - Tomás Ó Sé

Before he talks football, Tomás Ó Sé wants to pay tribute to the late Liam Kearns, his fellow Kerryman who died on Sunday, aged 61.

"Just before he took the Offaly job, Liam rang me and we had a good oul chat," Ó Sé, a former Offaly coach and provincial player under Kearns, told RTÉ Sport.

"He was a fierce football man.

"I played Railway Cup football for Munster under him and he was an absolute gentleman.

"I didn't know him very well but knew him well enough to be able to pick up the phone to him.

"From a football point of view, when he went to some so-called weaker counties, he always brought them to another level and that always struck me.

"Here was this football man with great coaching prowess and an ability to get the maximum every drop out of every fella. He had a huge love for the game.

"But from talking to lads for the past two days I was able to see the human side to Liam too and that’s just a huge loss. By that, I mean the way former players across all levels spoke of him. How well he treated them and how he looked out for them and how he backed them.

"It’s just terrible when someone goes so unexpectedly. For his family it must be terrible and all my thoughts are with them.

"I think it’s a huge loss to the GAA and at Saturday’s game between Offaly and Tipp I would hope that as many people as possible attend to come out and pay their respects to Liam."

Last August, shortly after Kearns took the Offaly reigns, Ó Sé brought his own career into a new phase by taking the job of Kerry under-20 football manager.

"It’s demanding, as you want it to be," Ó Sé said, at the launch of the 2023 Eirgrid under-20 football championship.

"You are dealing with young fellas and the lads we have are fully committed but they are based in