Packy McGarty (29 April 1933 – 6 April 2021) was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

player from

Mohill Mohill (, meaning "Soft Ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km (10 miles) away. History The Justinian plague of Mohill devastated the local population in the 6th centur ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

. He played for the Leitrim county team for 23 years between 1949 and 1971, playing his first senior game at the age of 16. He played in four

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

finals with Leitrim, from 1957 to 1960. In 1958 they were narrowly beaten by a

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

team backboned by the players who would win three consecutive

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

titles between 1963 and 1966. In this match he had his jersey torn to shreds by the Galway backs, and many spectators said his performance was one of the all-time great Gaelic football forward displays. He played on his first Connacht

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

team at the age of 20 in 1954. He won his first Railway Cup with Connacht in 1957. He won a

Connacht Junior Football Championship The Connacht Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Connacht Council. The competition began in 19 ...

in 1962, and was on the team which lost to Meath in the

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

final. He was included on the Gaelic football team of the century, of the great

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

(GAA) footballers who never won an All-Ireland medal. He was the only Leitrim Player chosen on the

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

GAA team of the millennium. He lived in

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondalk ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, where he owned a grocery shop for many years. He died in April 2021, aged 87.

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