Dermot Earley. Army man.

As recently as a few Sundays ago I heard it said. I was remarking that Eoin Larkin's legs looked a little lacking in condition when his wasp-like socks were pulled up. My father nodded, agreed and then he said it. Army man. Then I said it, quietly, under my breath. My earliest recollection of it ever being said was in reference to former Dublin captain Tommy Carr. What does it mean though? And is my old man the only one who utters it?

If you type 'army man' into Wikipedia you get this explanation: 'Army men, or plastic soldiers, are simple toy soldiers that are about 5cm tall and most commonly moulded from green or other coloured relatively unbreakable plastic' but I know the head of the family a good few years now and he's talking about something else, he's no contributor to Wikipedia.

I knew Carr's brother Kieran in school. A character as we used to say, great company, kind of posh for no real reason. We used to 'mingle', as my mother used to call it, at the AIB corner up the town, early morning and after school. We'd wait for up to an hour for the Borrisoleigh bus to arrive outside Hogans, laden with sleepy but nice types. As they'd walk past en route to the Presentation Convent we'd pretend not to see them, some even looked away.

Tommy Carr would've looked at them, spoken to them, probably escorted them to class, carried their satchels. Army man. Kieran was bravado, Tommy was substance. Maybe that's what it means? Having some substance. Having something to you, something about you. Maybe?!?

Carr has long since retired from playing football but in a week of notable retirements, in rugby circles, the football world and the land of Gaelic Games, one stood out for me. That of Dermot Earley. Army man. Son of the quintessential army man.

I've heard it said that when Dermot Earley Snr shook your hand it stayed shook. He'd look you right in the eye and you'd know you were dealing with a man of real substance, a man worthy of respect. I never met the former Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces and, sadly, I never will. I've watched his offspring from afar for as long as I can remember though and have always wanted to meet him. That's still a possibility.

The Lilywhite midfielder admitted defeat to a serious back injury over the weekend and in doing so brought the curtain down on a career worthy of some note that saw him win two Leinster medals, the same amount  of All Stars and five county titles with his beloved Sarsfields.

Earley joked (if army men do such things) about his provincial medals, saying 'there's not many Kildare men that have them' and he's not wrong. Like so many great players down through the years an All-Ireland medal alluded him but no one could ever question his commitment to the cause during his 17-year run in the white of Kildare in which he was 'relatively unbreakable'.

An army man. A man not to be messed with. A man for all seasons. A man you'd go to war with. A man's man.

Dermot Earley. I salute you.