CASSIDY REFLECTS WITHOUT REGRETS
AS he looked back on missing out on a Celtic Cross in 2012 during Laochra Gael’s exceptional look at his life and career on TG4, Kevin Cassidy smiled and said philosophically: ‘What’s for you, won’t pass you.’
The former Donegal wing-back’s life story was the subject matter as TG4’s excellent GAA documentary series returned for the 19th time. As a concept, Laochra Gael took time to find its feet. The f i rst couple of seasons focused on luminaries such as Ger Loughnane and Brian Mullins. However, since it moving away from rarefied air and revealing lesser known stars, it has truly come into its own. It now glitters as the gem in TG4’ s impressive range of home-grown programming.
David Brady brilliantly captured the magnificent obsession of kicking football for Mayo in the last season. There has also been a wonderfully life-affirming exploration of former Wexford hurler Diarmuid ‘Gizzy’ Lyng’s life, and Cork camogie star Ashling Thompson lifted the lid on her mental health struggles.
The hour or so we spent in the company of Cassidy was the finest episode yet and set a high standard for the new series. The double All-Star’s time with Donegal encapsulated the journey from the gifted – but ill- disciplined – bunch in the early 2000s, known as the party boys to Jim McGuinness assuming the helm and leading the county to glory.
Of course, Cassidy missed out on the ultimate prize, for contributing a chapter to This is Our Year, a book chronicling the Championship of the nine Ulster counties in 2011. The punishment seemed extreme at the time. It seems even more so now. As Declan Bogue, the book’s author, puts it: ‘These are grown men talking about Gaelic games.’
There were no great secrets revealed in Cassidy’s chapter but as Oisín McConville, an articulate contributor to the show, explains: ‘Inter- county managers are the most paranoid people around.’ Indeed.
There’s much more to Cassidy than that story, though, as was shown in this exceptional episode. It’s well worth checking out on the Player if you missed it. Mostly, that’s because of Cassidy whose candour drives the show.
There is a real depth to the Gaoth Dobhair native, and as his story gradually unfolds with Mount Errigal providing a majestic backdrop, it is easy to see why. He spent the first nine years of his life in Glasgow, not unusual for this part of West Donegal. They were the only Catholic family in a rough Protestant estate. But from an early age, Cassidy heeded his f ather Tommy’s advice, not be afraid to show who he was. So, when he kicked ball with the local kids, he wore a Celtic shirt amid a sea of blue.
Tommy Cassidy’s presence shadows the documentary. It was from him that Kevin got his sporting talent — Tommy once had a trial with Liverpool. However, when Tommy and Anne brought their family back from Glasgow, he found it hard to settle. Having bought a bar in Gweedore, Kevin speaks quietly about how alcohol took on a grip on him and one day, he simply left his family. And never returned.
Cassidy was carrying the weight of his absent father through his wonderful Donegal career. On the biggest days in Croke Park and Clones, he would find himself wondering about his dad.
Tommy passed away in February 2013 and Cassidy admits that one of his concerns around the controversial end to his Donegal career was looking at how alcoholism had gripped his father and the thought that he might be affected in the same way. The strength that allowed Cassidy to move on comes from his mother who raised seven children on her own after Tommy left.
The split between player and manager was Donegal’s own version of Saipan. Cassidy had been one of their best players as they emerged from the wilderness in 2011. His sensational match-winning point against Kildare will forever be remembered in the north-west. His outrageous point against Tyrone in that year’s Ulster semi-final — when Donegal needed a score — was probably even better.
With the passage of time, McGuinness casting Cassidy aside because of a chapter in a book seems even more absurd. I thought it was an over-reaction at the time, as did the manager as he tried to coax Cassidy back into the panel the following Easter. Too much water had passed under the bridge. As his wife Sarah points out, Cassidy’s heroic displays as Gaoth Dobhair claimed their first Ulster club title i n 2018 means he i sn’t remembered for something negative. Despite how it stopped with Donegal, there’s a happy ending, after all. Through it all, Cassidy comes across as someone you’d like to have a pint with in An Teach Mící. Laochra Gael continues this Thursday with another remarkable story, that of Ryan O’Dwyer. If the standard of the season opener is maintained, this will be the best series yet.
Meanwhile, as most of the world was tuned into CNN on Wednesday as American society tore
‘Cassidy isn’t remembered for something negative’
itself apart, Sky Sports reprised their star double- act of Roy Keane and Micah Richards for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Keane and Richards have developed a reputation as the odd couple of Premier League coverage, but they were in complete agreement watching the Carabao Cup semi-final.
United were good, but City were much better. Anyone looking for an eruption from Keane, for his voice to become more highpitched would have been disappointed. The crisis-club wheel of fortune had pointed at City just a few weeks ago but is now firmly directed at Chelsea and Frank Lampard.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola is looking ominously as being the ultimate party-pooper by ensuring that it is his team who will win the Liverpool-Manchester United title race.