KERRY GAA greats were among those who attended the funeral of Leo Griffin on Saturday afternoon at St John’s Church.

Leo died on Friday afternoon and there have been tributes paid to the popular former bagman for the great Kerry team  of the 1970s and 80s from all quarters.

Among the former greats attending the funeral were Mick O’Dwyer, Jimmy Deenihan, Pat Spillane, Ger Power, Eoin ‘Bomber’ Liston, Ogie Moran and Sean Walsh.

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Fr Piotr Delimat, who celebrated Mass, said Leo was involved in many projects and he was a  great ambassador for our town and for Irish language and culture.

He said Leo devoted a lot of his time to collecting for charities in Tralee and was described as a loyal friend and true gentleman.

Afterwards, Kerry GAA and members of Craobh Thrá Lí and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann of which Leo was a member for many a year, formed a guard of honour and accompanied his mortal remains from St John’s to Casement Station.

Leo was buried in Kilflynn cemetery on Saturday afternoon.

The poem Dúchas by Garry McMahon was also read out as a tribute to Leo, a great GAA man, at the end of the Mass.

You say tradition counts for naught when two teams take the field,
I fear you are mistaken, lad, but the years will make you yield,
And when your hair’s as grey as mine, and time has made you old,
Then you’ll invoke the truth I spoke of the Kingdom’s green and gold.

You cannot box or bottle it, nor grasp it in your hand,
But pride of race and love of place inspire a love of land
Time honoured is our birthright, we’ll never break the mould,
It’s deep within the soul of us, who wear the green and gold.

Grey lakes and mountains soaring high, Mount Brandon‘s holy hill,
The little church at Gallarus, our language living still,
The Skellig Rock, stout football stock, they can’t be bought or sold,
For our county’s fame, we play the game in the Kingdom’s green and gold.

And when the battle’s fiercest and the fortunes ebb and flow,
We’re still alive, we can survive, we never will let go,
For the spirit of our fathers and of stories yet untold,
Will lead us on to victory, in the Kingdom’s green and gold.

We savour Kerry victories, we salute a gallant foe
And when we lose, there’s no excuse, we pick up our bags and go,
So raise your glass each lad and lass to our warriors brave and bold,
Who again aspire to the Sam Maguire in the Kingdom’s green and gold.