When Passage won the intermediate county hurling title in 1960, the team was made up mainly of a group of very experienced players. The youthful ingredient in the team was supplied by two 19 year olds who occupied positions at the opposite end of the pitch.

One of the Passage clubs greatest ever players, John Barry, filled the right corner forward position while a teak tough defender, Seán Geary, filled the No.4 jersey.

When Passage moved up to senior ranks both players became leaders on the team, but shortly after this Seán Geary became involved in the under-age affairs of the club and it was here that he began to make a major impact nurturing some of the best talent ever to wear the Passage jersey.

Seán’s playing career was curtailed shortly after this when he received a serious eye injury. This mishap meant that he got even more involved in the under-age affairs of the club and there was a time he was involved in practically every under-age and minor team, hurling and football, that represented the club. Unlike the present time when each team would have a number of mentors, Seán was the sole mentor of all affairs. He was fortunate that the modern day health and safety regulations were not in place at that time, as he often had to pack up to eight young lads into his car to get them to a match. Seán had the uncanny ability to get reluctant players to line out with the club and the know-how to develop the skills of some gifted emerging talent.

Without doubt his greatest achievement was to mould together what was arguably the best under-age team ever to represent the club. The 1966 under-16 team became the only under-age team in the clubs history to win an “A” grade title when they defeated a highly fancied Glen Rovers team in the final.

The strength of this team can be gauged by the fact that four of that team lined out in the Cork minor hurling team of 1968. Seán should also be credited with discovering and developing one of Cork’s greatest ever hurling defenders, John Horgan.

Despite being totally engrossed in the under-age scene in the club, Seán also found time to be a valued member of various club committees in the 1960s and 1970s. During that period he held the now defunct position of football secretary for a number of years.

To this day Seán speaks fondly of the many, many players he dealt with and the feeling is mutual as those players will speak with great affection of the years they spent under his guidance both on and off the field.

Seán’s capabilities would spread far and wide and when Matt Aherne took on the task of writing the clubs history a few years ago, he had no hesitation in enlisting the help of Seán and Derry Doody, both of whom made a major impact on the production of a quality publication.