Peter McDermott (27 July 1918 – 11 October 2011) was an Irish

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 ki ...

player, coach, administrator and referee. Throughout a club career that spanned over 20 years, he played for several clubs and enjoyed championship success in different grades with Rathfeigh, Donaghmore and Navan O'Mahony's. At inter-county level, he was left corner-forward on the Meath senior football team that won All-Ireland Championship titles in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

; he was the first Meath player to win six Leinster Championship medals and also claimed two

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

titles. His 51 championship appearances stood as a Meath record for nearly 40 years. As well as club and county successes, McDermott was a regular for

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 ...

and won three

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 ...

medals. McDermott's inter-county career was congruous with a career as a top-ranking referee and he took charge of All-Ireland finals in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

. As an administrator he served as secretary, vice-chairman and president of the Meath County Board and was instrumental in organising a prototype International Compromise Rules Series in 1968. McDermott's coaching career stretched back to the 1940s before enjoying All-Ireland success with Down in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and Meath in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. Regarded as one of Meath's greatest ever servants, he received the All-Time All-Star Award in 1989 and was inducted into the GAA Hall of Fame in 2002.

Playing career

Club

McDermott first sampled Gaelic football while attending Cushinstown national school. After a period playing with Ardcath in the Fingal League, he subsequently lined out with Rathfeigh and captained the team to the County Minor Championship title in 1936. After lining out for Skryne in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

, McDermott opted to join the Donaghmore club after the break-up of Rathfeigh. In his first year with the "Moore's" in 1938, they won the County Intermediate Championship title by beating a Oldcastle in the final. Four years later the Donaghmore club secured the County Senior Championship title when a team, captained by McDermott, beat Skryne by 1-08 to 0-02 in the 1942 final. A move to

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...

in 1950 saw McDermott join the O'Mahony's club in the town and he helped his adopted club to win their first County Championship title in 1953. By the time the O'Mahony's club regained the title, McDermott's career was coming to an end. In 1957 he made his last club appearance when he lined out in goal in a one-point defeat of Skryne in the 1957 final.

Inter-county

Success at club level resulted in McDermott being drafted onto the Meath junior team for the 1939 Leinster Junior Championship. Meath came close to securing the provincial title but were held to a draw by

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

before being beaten in the final replay. McDermott, who played well in the drawn match but had, by his own admission, "a poor game in the replay" and was not among the members of the junior panel who were subsequently invited onto the senior team. McDermott was drafted onto the Meath senior football team during the latter stages of the 1939–40 National Football League and he made his debut in a

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

defeat of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

Páirc Tailteann Páirc Tailteann () is a GAA stadium in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. It is the home of the Meath Gaelic football and Hurling teams. The ground has had a capacity of between 30,000 and 33,000, but following a safety audit in 2011 the GAA redu ...

. After losing the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

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 ...

, he won his first Leinster Championship title after nullifying the influence of Tommy Murphy in the 2-07 to 1-07 defeat of

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

in the provincial final. McDermott claimed his second national silverware when Meath beat Wexford to win the 1945–46 National Football League title. He won a second Leinster Championship title in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

after a 3-07 to 1-07 win over Laois. After surrendering the title the following year, McDermott claimed his third provincial winners' medal after scoring two goals in the 4-05 to 0-06 defeat of

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

in the 1949 Leinster final. He was once again selected at left corner-forward for the 1949 All-Ireland final against

cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bal ...

and claimed his first winners' medal after the 1-10 to 1-06 victory in what was Meath's inaugural championship title. After surrendering their provincial and national titles to Louth in the 1950 Leinster final, McDermott won a fourth provincial winners' medal the following year after an 18-point defeat of Laois. He later made his second All-Ireland final appearance, however, Meath suffered a 2-08 to 0-09 defeat by Mayo. Meath retained the provincial title after a one-point defeat of Louth in the 1952 Leinster final, with McDermott winning a fifth provincial medal. He later made his third 1952 All-Ireland final appearance, however, after an initial draw Cavan claimed the title after a 0-09 to 0-05 victory. Three provincial titles in-a-row proved beyond Meath in 1953, however, 35-year-old McDermott continued to line out with the team during the 1954 Leinster Championship. In the

against

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...

he came on as a substitute for the injured team captain

Tom Duff Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, scored two goals and collected his sixth winners' medal after the 4-07 to 2-10 victory. McDermott assumed the team captaincy for the remainder of the championship, including the 1954 All-Ireland final against Kerry. He ended the game with a second All-Ireland winners' medal after the 1-13 to 1-07 victory, while he also had the honour of lifting the Sam Maguire Cup.

Honours

Player

;Rathfeigh *Meath Minor Football Championship ;Donaghmore * Meath Senior Football Championship: 1942 * Meath Intermediate Football Championship: 1938 ;Navan O'Mahony's * Meath Senior Football Championship: 1953, 1957 ;Meath *

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 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

: 1945–46, 1950–51 ;Leinster *

: 1944, 1945, 1953

Coach/selector

;Down *

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 ...

: 1946 *

Ulster Junior Football Championship The Ulster Junior Football Championship is a junior Gaelic football knockout competition organised by the Ulster GAA. The competition began in 1914, with Cavan winning during the inaugural title. The most successful county to date is Cavan, who ...

: 1946 ;Meath *

* Leinster Senior Football Championship:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Peter 1918 births 2011 deaths Navan O'Mahoneys Gaelic footballers Meath inter-county Gaelic footballers All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees All-Ireland-winning captains (football) Gaelic football referees Gaelic football managers