Peter Daly

Over the years Kilmihil has produced many great footballers, one of the greatest must surely be Peter Daly.

In the Clare Champion of 29th May 1943, the following report was published of an inter-county match between Clare and Limerick. 

“At Foynes, Clare, short seven of their regular players, put up a magnificent performance in winning from Limerick by 2-10 to 2-4. The game never lost interest throughout, as Limerick fought pluckily to the final whistle. In the early stages they looked like taking the lead, but the good defence work of the Clare backs, in which Hogan, Beggan and Hartney were outstanding, spoiled many brilliant efforts of the Limerick forwards. PETER DALY was the idol of the crowd. His footwork and ball control were a revelation to the huge crowd present, and was an accomplishment of brilliancy, never before achieved in a Gaelic Football field. His scores of 2-7 out of a total of 2-10 must certainly stand out as a record never before achieved, considering the fact that all came from actual play, none from frees.

The Clare team crossed by boat from Kildysart to Foynes. It was a unique experience for most of the players who were making their first trip, and many felt rather nervous. A choppy sea was encountered off Cahercon, but Skipper Kelly’s expert handling of the boat, brought the party safely into Foynes. A large crowd assembled on the Foynes Pier, to see the team off on the return journey. The Clare colours were hoisted, and the boat sailed away with the team and supporters singing “Clare’s Dragoons”. There was a beautiful calm sea for the return journey which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Several hundreds crossed from Clare to witness the match”

A report in the Clare Champion of 7th July 1946 on the Munster Championship v Kerry: “Peter Daly, famous for his spectacular solo runs, gave an individual performance unexcelled in provincial football”

Another quote from the Clare Champion on a match between Clare and Wicklow played on 30th March 1947: “Peter Daly was responsible for many of Clare’s scores and his solo runs were a treat to watch.”

He played soccer in Dublin under a false name because in those days the “Ban” was in place and if a player was caught playing a “foreign” game he would be expelled from the Association.

Unfortunately for Kilmihil and Clare Peter emigrated to Australia at a young age.