Barry Dan O'Sullivan recently rejoined the Kerry football panel after five years without making a single appearance for the Kingdom.
The 27-year-old hadn’t played for Kerry since the 2018 league and had yet to make his Championship debut for Kerry up until this year.
The Dingle dynamo player has had an impressive first year back, scoring 1-03 in six starts in 2023, and wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of him securing a starting spot in Jack O'Connor's star-studded side, not even his own brother's wedding.
O'Sullivan was set to be the best man at his brother Darragh's wedding in Italy last weekend but due to his commitment with Kerry, O'Sullivan had to miss the nupitals.
Instead of enjoying a break away with his family and the sun in Italy, he chose to be in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last weekend, where he was not guaranteed a starting position let alone any minutes at all.
Kerry played Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday, and avoided a loss by just two points. They won 1-14 to 0-15, earning two precious points, which now takes them level at the top of the group with both Cork and Mayo.
O'Sullivan didn't start the game for Kerry and would have gone into the game knowing he wasn't guaranteed anything from O'Connor, in terms of minutes despite missing his brother's wedding to be at the game.
Former Kerry player and manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice - who coached O'Sullivan back in 2018 - highlighted his huge commitment to the cause in his column in the Examiner this week.
He wasn’t starting and he would have known and understood that he was guaranteed nothing in terms of minutes. He did well when he was introduced on the 65-minute mark but it underlines, once more, how invested the players are in representing their counties and by extension their families and clubs.
READ ALSO: GAA Fixtures: The Weekend's Big Gaelic Football And Hurling Games, And How To Watch Them
Best men
The Kerry midfielder isn't the first player we have seen miss parts of a wedding due to their commitments to their county team.
Clare hurler John Conlon missed parts of his brother's wedding to play a man of the match-winning performance for Clare against All-Ireland champions Limerick.
They beat Limerick on a score line of 1-24 to 2-20 in a pulsating Munster round-robin clash at the Gaelic grounds.
Conlon, who was his brother Pa's best man, had left the wedding at 4pm earlier in the evening to meet with his Banner teammates ahead of the crucial game.
"I had the suit in the dressing room. I just threw the suit on. Some of the lads were laughing, saying 'We should all wear suits going to games now'," says Conlon, speaking after being named PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for April in hurling.
29 April 2023; Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick is marked by John Conlon of Clare, off the ball, during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 2 match between Limerick and Clare at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
SEE ALSO: 'Jack Charlton Used To Drop Us To School. We Thought We Were The Bee's Knees'
