Seán Ó Síocháin (24 March 1914 – 2 February 1997) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

er, hurler, ballad singer, broadcaster and

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

administrator. His

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

career with the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

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 ...

senior teams spanned seven seasons from 1935 until 1941. Born in Cill na Martra,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ó Síocháin was the son of Daniel and Kate Sheehan (née Lynch). His father ran a small grocery business. Ó Síocháin was educated locally and, after qualifying as a national school teacher, moved to

in 1935 where he taught for 11 years. Ó Síocháin first played hurling and Gaelic football with the

Macroom Macroom (; ga, Maigh Chromtha) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of ...

club and won a county senior championship medal with the club as a seventeen-year-old in 1931. He later joined the Clann na Gael club in Dublin. Ó Síocháin won two more county senior championship medals with his adopted club. After impressing at club level, Ó Síocháin made his debut on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor team in 1932. He subsequently joined the Cork senior team and made his debut during the 1935 championship. After declaring for Dublin he captained the senior team in 1938, however, Ó Síocháin returned to the Cork team the following year and continued to play for them until his retirement in 1941. By this stage Ó Síocháin was known nationally as a ballad singer and did some broadcasts for Radió Éireann on such programmes as ''Ireland is Singing'', ''Round the Fire'' and ''Balladmakers' Saturday Night''. He toured the United States on four occasions with Irish singers and was also a member of the Dublin Grand Opera Society. Ó Síocháin's career as an official with the

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 ...

began in 1946 when he filled a vacancy for assistant secretary, resigning from his teaching post to work full-time with the association. He was elected General-Secretary in 1964, succeeding

Pádraig Ó Caoimh Pádraig Ó Caoimh (Patrick "Paddy" O'Keeffe) was an Irish soldier and long-time administrator of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the home of the Cork GAA, is named after him. Early life Ó Caoimh was born in Roscomm ...

. The title was changed to Director-General in 1972, with Ó Síocháin retaining the post until his retirement in 1979. He continued to work for the GAA and was appointed director of fund raising for the new Ceannáras building which was completed in 1982. Ó Síocháin died on 2 February 1997. His daughter, Orla Ní Síocháin, was a three-time

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal winner with the Dublin

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

team while his son-in-law, Jack Ryan, won an

medal with

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

. Ó Síocháin's grandson, Shane Ryan, was a six-time

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

medal winner with the Dublin senior team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSiochain, Sean 1914 births 1997 deaths Clann na Gael (Dublin) Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Dual players Gaelic games administrators Irish schoolteachers Macroom Gaelic footballers Macroom hurlers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Musicians from County Cork 20th-century Irish male singers