People like Joe Barrett

Joe Barrett (17 July 1902 – 2 June 1952) was an Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Austin Stack's and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1923 until 1933. Barrett captained Kerry to the All-Ireland titles of 1929 and 1932.

Joe Barrett was born at 67 Rock Street, Tralee in 1902. The third of five sons and six daughters, his father, John Barrett (1858–1915), was a well known pig and cattle dealer while his mother, Nora O’Mahony, hailed from Ballyduff. The influences in his family home were strongly Roman Catholic and nationalist. It were these views that shaped his outlook in his adulthood. Barrett received a brief national school education, however, in 1915 he followed his older brother, Christy, into the family business. World War I was raging at the time and the export of bacon and other meats created a huge demand which kept the Barrett's gainfully employed through their agency for the two local bacon factories.