The death has taken place of Seán Doherty, captain of Kevin Heffernan’s 1974 All-Ireland winners. He was 78 and is the fourth member of that ground-breaking team to pass away, after Anton O’Toole, Brian Mullins and earlier this year, Paddy Cullen.
‘The Doc’ was a traditional full back, a big presence under high ball and a physical marker. He won three All-Ireland medals, 1974, ’76 and ’77, and six Leinsters, 1974-79.
In that breakthrough season of 51 years ago, his performances were described as “outstanding” and he won that year’s All Star in the position. In all, he played in five successive All-Ireland finals from 1974-78 and was a replacement in a sixth, the following year.
Captain again in 1975 when Dublin lost their title to Mick O’Dwyer’s youthful Kerry, he was succeeded the following season by Tony Hanahoe.
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In the famous 1977 All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry, it was a towering catch by Doherty from a long free driven in by Ógie Moran that began the move for Bernard Brogan’s goal, which sealed Dublin’s comeback win with three minutes left.
There was controversy in the 1975 All-Ireland when his challenge on Mickey Ned O’Sullivan took the opposing captain out of the match and hospitalised him. The pair were long reconciled and shared in the social reunions between Dublin and Kerry players.
O’Sullivan told Dermot Crowe in the Sunday Independent earlier this year the two had never discussed it since, preferring to leave it “behind the white lines”.
His last championship was in 1979 and after retirement, he went on to be involved with the county at senior level. When Heffernan finally stepped away from management in 1985, he was replaced by a triumvirate of his players Brian Mullins, Robbie Kelleher and Seán Doherty.
Although they served for only one year, he was retained as a selector in the succeeding management of Gerry McCaul, which won the 1987 NFL, defeating Kerry in the final and two years later, deposed Meath in Leinster before losing that year’s All-Ireland semi-final to Cork.
Doherty was born in Wicklow in 1946 and spent his early years there before moving to south Dublin where he was a member of Ballyboden Wanderers, later Ballyboden St Enda’s. In later years he was also player manager with St Anne’s.
Although his first career was as a plumber, he subsequently became a well-known publican in Rathfarnham. In later years he returned to his native Wicklow in Glenealy.
