{"id":288802,"date":"2026-02-09T13:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/288802\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T13:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:42:19","slug":"diarmuid-oconnell-son-of-gaa-icon-mick-brings-kerry-spirit-to-aras-an-uachtarain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/288802\/","title":{"rendered":"Diarmuid O\u2019Connell, son of GAA icon Mick, brings Kerry spirit to \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diarmuid was among the proud O’Connell clan that travelled to support his brother, Miche\u00e1l D O’Connell SC, at his High Court appointment ceremony last month.<\/p>\n

Dressed sharply in Louis Copeland, Diarmuid was busy shaking hands and keeping an eye on the goings-on at the \u00c1ras.<\/p>\n

He even obliged Taoiseach Mich\u00e1el Martin and President Catherine Connolly with a photograph. A keen observer of politics, a week never passes when Diarmuid fails to get The Kerryman to catch up on latest news.<\/p>\n

He even brought a copy of The Kerryman to the \u00c1ras for the ceremony to showcase the article on Miche\u00e1l\u2019s special appointment.<\/p>\n

Of course, Diarmuid is no stranger to meeting \u00c1ras office holders given Miche\u00e1l\u2019s mother-in-law is former President Mary McAleese.<\/p>\n

Diarmuid is widely known as the cherished son of Kerry GAA legend Mick O\u2019Connell and their many appearances together in media and documentaries over the years. They form a forceful partnership together but as Diarmuid showed at \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in: He is his own man.<\/p>\n

\"Diarmuid<\/p>\n

Diarmuid O’Connell meeting Taoiseach Mich\u00e1el Martin and President Catherine Connolly at \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in recently.<\/p>\n

News in 90 Seconds – 9th February 2026<\/p>\n

Diarmuid attends Tigh an Oile\u00e1in in Valentia \u2013 a remarkable space known for fostering lifelong friendships and daily interactions. Unsurprisingly, Diarmuid\u2019s visit to the \u00c1ras was the top discussion point in the days after.<\/p>\n

\"Diarmuid<\/p>\n

Diarmuid with his siblings Miche\u00e1l and Maura at \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiarmuid had no problem fitting in there. His sister said he made everyone feel comfortable as he would be nearly interviewing them,\u201d said Ita Sheehan, Centre Manager at Tigh an Oile\u00e1in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved it. He\u2019s totally into politics. On budget day he has his pen and paper and listens to the radio taking notes. He gets the The Kerryman every week.<\/p>\n

\"Diarmuid<\/p>\n

Diarmuid with the copy of The Kerryman he brought to the \u00c1ras containing an article on Miche\u00e1l’s appointment to the High Court.<\/p>\n

“I know that over the years he has posted many letters to the papers. He is a character and enjoys his outings, especially afternoon tea. He likes his luxuries,\u201d Ita added.<\/p>\n

Former Kerry legend Maurice Fitzgerald and Irish rugby star Ronan O\u2019Gara remain at the top of Diarmuid\u2019s list of favourite sports stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is still mad about them. We set goals every year for everyone at Tigh an Oile\u00e1in. Diarmuid\u2019s goal last year was to go to the Avia to see Ireland and Japan play. He goes to all the All-Irelands,\u201d Ita said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a group at Tigh an Oile\u00e1in who have been best buddies since pre-school age. They\u2019re a great bunch who love socialising. They all look out for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Diarmuid was among the proud O’Connell clan that travelled to support his brother, Miche\u00e1l D O’Connell SC, at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3656,61,60,1843,112,16585],"class_list":["post-288802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-catherine-connolly","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-micheal-martin","tag-sports","tag-stephen-fernane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}