St John’s representing county at Páidí festival
ST John’s will represent Sligo in the 31st edition of the Lidl Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé 2020, with 36 adult men’s and ladies club teams descending on the rugged Dingle Peninsula from the 21st to the 23rd February.
The Carraroe side will line out in the intermediate men’s round robin competition against Louth’s Na Piarsaigh (Dundalk) and Hunterstown Rovers (Ardee), Cavan’s Knockbride along with Mid-Kerry’s Listry and West Kerry’s Castlegregory, which is managed by former Offaly senior manager and Kerry native Stephen Wallace.
The football festival, which is supported by Lidl Ireland, McKeever Sports, EJMenswear.com of Sligo, Kerry County Council Tourism Unit and Lee Strand Milk, was founded by Kerry iconic footballer Páidi Ó Sé and has attracted over 16,000 club players over 30 years.
It has grown into a major international GAA event with senior, intermediate and junior adult club competitions as well as teams attending social events at Comórtas HQ, Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Ventry, Co. Kerry.
Comórtas Chairman Pádraig Óg. Ó Sé said: ‘We are delighted to welcome back St. John’s to our tournament and we wish them well.
“Páidi’s idea to expand the tournament beyond senior men’s teams back in 2009 was visionary and he would be proud to see new clubs getting involved year on year, all wanting to experience all that is good about the GAA.
“We are pleased that the tournament continues to be one of the most talked about GAA events in the calendar and we wish all clubs a safe and enjoyable experience.
“The support of local host clubs is crucial in ensuring we can maintain such a high number of teams and we thank them for their co-operation and making fields available to us.
“A special mention is due to Lidl who are in the fourth year of their partnership with us and who have contributed enormously to promoting ladies’ football in the country.
“We are grateful to our local partners Lee Strand Milk and Kerry County Council Tourism Unit who are backing us also to continue with the Comórtas, which has become a big benefit in terms of local tourism.
“We are also delighted that EJMenswear.com of Sligo, who are related to the Ó Sé family as well as new clothing sponsors McKeever Sports are partnering up with us to ensure it will be another weekend to remember.”
For a programme of events and a full list of teams visit www. Paidiose.com