John Joe O'Reilly (Gaelic footballer)

John Joe O'Reilly (1918 to 1952) was a legendary Gaelic footballer who played for the Cavan county team. Born at the Derries Upper, Killeshandra, County Cavan, he enjoyed early success with St Patrick's College, Cavan, and his club Cornafean, and captained Cavan to All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in 1947, played at the Polo Grounds in New York City, and in 1948, having also played on three losing sides in a final. He is the only man to lead a team to All-Ireland glory outside of Ireland. He won 11 Ulster senior football medals, a National Football League medal and four Railway Cup medals, and was one of only eight men presented with the Sam Maguire Cup twice as captain. A Commandant in the Irish Army, he suffered a serious injury in a match against Ardclough in 1952 and died in the General Military Hospital in the Curragh on 22 November 1952 aged 34. He was named on the Football Team of the Century in 1984 and the Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium in 1999, and a bronze statue of him was unveiled in 2022.