Gormley first played
Gaelic football when he made the school's team as a 14-year-old, before later lining out at adult level with the
Claudy club. He first appeared on the inter-county scene with
Derry as a member of the
minor team in
1952. Gormley claimed his first inter-county silverware when he won an
Ulster JFC medal in
1955. This success earned him an immediate call-up to the
senior team. Gormley, having earlier won
Dr McKenna Cup and
Ulster SFC medals, lined out in goal when Derry were beaten by
Dublin in the
1958 All-Ireland final. What was exceptional about Derry’s goalkeeper was that he played at the highest level with only one eye, after losing an eye as a child following an accident on the farm yard. ==Death==