O’Brien has done more than most to aid football cause

OUR ONGOING look at footballers from other places who aided the Wexford cause starts with an admirable servant this week. Indeed, it could be argued with plenty of justification that Aidan O’Brien has done more than most to develop the game in his adopted county.

However, there was quite an unusual start to his time in the southeast, as first he was with us, and then he was against us!

One of the initial roles performed by Aidan, after his arrival to teach in Good Counsel, was to take on the training of the county Senior football squad in 1987-’88 along with a work colleague, Brian Teague from Armagh - Billy Dodd’s friend, ‘Paisley’!

Aidan was still playing his club football back home to a high standard with St. Malachy’s at the time, and he was deemed good enough to feature on the Westmeath team in 1989.

And who did they meet in the first round of that year’s Leinster championship in Mullingar? It had to be Wexford of course, with a depleted visiting side defeated by 3-9 to 1-7 on their trip to the midlands.

While Aidan finished his playing career here with Adamstown, prior to that the former county Senior manager had a very successful stint in the Gusserane colours.

And it was in that period when he represented Wexford in four different Leinster Junior championship campaigns: 1993, ’95, ’96 and finally ’98, when he captained the side.

That grade provided a platform for several non-natives to don the purple and gold, such as Galway’s John Kilgannon - a teacher in Enniscorthy - who was a recent arrival to the Glynn-Barntown club when he featured in the 1991 campaign.

Then there was John Joe Myers from Carnew in Wicklow, who had hopped over the border to play his club football with Kilrush when he lined out at right half-forward in the 1996 loss to Louth.

How many of you remember James Galvin from Castledaly, an All-Ireland Under-21 medal winner with his native Westmeath in 1999?

He spent some time in the Kilanerin colours, and played in defence with the Wexford Junior team in 2005 and 2006.

And in our last game in that grade three years ago, Castletown defender Peter Devine (Donegal) was joined by Seán Kelly of St. Anne’s, the Mayo native who has also played in the League of Ireland with Wexford F.C.

After Pat Condon in 1991, there was a gap in Senior representation for seven years until Dubliner Aidan Hore from Ballyboden St. Enda’s featured briefly between the posts.

His links with Wexford were rock solid, as his father, Ronan, was a county Minor in 1972 and Sarsfields stalwart, while his mother, Miriam, is daughter of the late Eddie Nolan from William Street, a dedicated Butters official over many years. Aidan’s uncle, Andrew Nolan, is Co. Treasurer.

He played in the winter of 1998-’99, when his colleagues include a second John Hegarty - the Kerry native with the Monageer-Boolavogue club (not to be confused with the Kilanerin centurion), who featured when his fellow countyman, Joe Joe Barrett, was at the helm.

We’ll fast forward, then, to 2007 when Peter O’Dwyer served Castletown and Wexford during a brief stint away from his native club, Kilmurry-Ibrickane, and county, Clare.

That same year, Gary Brilly from Kilcock in Kildare joined the Starlights and played with the county Juniors, before graduating to the Senior squad of Jason Ryan in the All-Ireland semi-final campaign of 2008. He is currently based in Boston.

After Brilly, there was a wait of ten years before David Shannon from O’Donovan Rossa in Skibbereen - a Garda and member of the Volunteers club - featured up front with the Seniors in nine games.

Also a key member of the Gorey rugby team in the top flight of the Leinster League, David has returned to his home football club for 2020, scoring a goal for them in a game against St. Finbarr’s shortly before all activity came to a halt.

There’s a few more people to mention next week, with ‘outside’ connections that are slightly different to the general criteria I have been using: namely, footballers who were into adulthood when they upped sticks and came to live and play in Wexford.