Dermot Earley Snr

Lieutenant-General Dermot Earley DSM (24 February 1948 – 23 June 2010) was an Irish military officer. He was the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces from 2007 to 2010, and previously held roles with the United Nations.

Early life and education Earley was born in Castlebar, Co Mayo in 1948. He was educated at Gorthaganny N.S. where his father Peadar was a principal teacher and later he attended St. Nathy's College in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon.

Army career After completing his Leaving Certificate in 1965 Earley joined the Defence Forces as a cadet and was commissioned in 1967. His first posting was as a platoon commander in the Recruit Training Depot at the Curragh and in 1969 he was appointed an instructor at the Army School of Physical Culture (ASPC). Two years later, in 1971, Earley obtained a specialist diploma in physical education at St. Mary's College, Twickenham.

Earley's service record included overseas service with UNTSO in 1975, Adjutant to the 52nd Infantry Battalion UNIFIL. From 1987 to 1991, he served as deputy military adviser to UN secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and Battalion Commander of the 81st Infantry Battalion UNIFIL in 1997. While serving with the UN up to 1991 he was a member of negotiating teams dealing with the Iraqis and Kuwaitis, and was a key adviser during the setting up of the UN's mission in Kuwait – Unikom. He was involved in negotiating an end to the Angolan civil war. His resignation was accepted on 9 June 2010 and one of his previous deputies, Major General Sean McCann, was appointed Chief of Staff. Lt Gen Dermot Earley died of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) on 23 June 2010 at the age of 62.

His Newbridge funeral on 24 June 2010 was attended by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Irish government ministers and leading GAA figures, while former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave issued a statement calling him "one of the great figures of this country".

Football career Minor and under-21 Earley first joined the Roscommon minor football team in 1963, at the age of fifteen. In that year, Earley's side reached the Connacht Minor Football Championship (MFC) final, losing-out to Mayo.

Two years later, in 1965, Earley lined out in a second Connacht MFC decider. Five-in-a-row hopefuls Mayo were beaten by Roscommon, giving Earley a Connacht MFC title.

In 1985, Earley sustained a fractured jaw in the Connacht SFC semi-final against Galway. When he was leaving the field he received a standing ovation as many thought that would be his farewell to football. Earley confounded everybody and lined out in the Connacht SFC final against Mayo two weeks later. In spite of Earley kicking six points, Mayo still won by a scoreline of 2–11 to 0–8. At the age of thirty-seven, Earley decided to retire from inter-county football.

Earley is his county's top scorer in National Football League history, finishing his career with 17–316 (367) in that competition.

In May 2020, the Irish Independent named Earley as one of the "dozens of brilliant players" who narrowly missed selection for its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".

Management During the 1990s, Earley managed both the Roscommon county football team (from 1992 until 1994) and the Kildare county football team (1994 to 1996).

Personal life Earley was married with six children. The family lived in Kildare. His younger brother, Paul, and his son, Dermot Earley Jnr, were both Gaelic footballers. Paul Earley, like Dermot Snr, was an All Star recipient for Roscommon, and, while Dermot Jnr was also an All Star winner, he played his football for Kildare.