Who have offaly footballers lost along the years?
I am originally from north offaly and can name a few players that could still be playing but are not.
David Connolly - Accident
Frank Weir - No interest in county team
Kieran McEvoy - Too fond of the beer!?
Alan Comerford - In the states
Gary Comerford - In the states
Keith Fitzpatrick - No interest after tommy lyons antics left him no interent in playing for the county again
John Greene/Eddie Greene? Playing with a v poor daingean team
Im sure there is many many more
Who are the county footballers who fell by the wayside?
yeah definitely david connolly. was a really good footballer and a really nice lad. freetaking was flawless. could of done with him in recent years. think he still plays with bracknagh.
gary heffernan who plays with tullamore now could have made it with a little more interest and conviction, i'm sure ronan mooney had a few years left in him too.
gary heffernan who plays with tullamore now could have made it with a little more interest and conviction, i'm sure ronan mooney had a few years left in him too.
Lost Footballers
It's good to hear what became of the Comerfords. I wondered why they weren't still on the scene.
According to a recent newspaper report Ronan Mooney is back for 3 months and will be playing with Shamrocks over the summer.
What a pity Frank Weir wasn't available for selection over the last 10 years. I remember him scoring 4 points from play for Offaly against Cork in a League game without even breaking sweat.
According to a recent newspaper report Ronan Mooney is back for 3 months and will be playing with Shamrocks over the summer.
What a pity Frank Weir wasn't available for selection over the last 10 years. I remember him scoring 4 points from play for Offaly against Cork in a League game without even breaking sweat.
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Lone Shark
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David Connolly is playing wing back for Bracknagh these days. Still a lively footballer and a good club player, but it's an awful pity for him when you think what might have been. It's not like he was hailed as the next Colm O'Rourke or anything, but he was a tidy accurate player who could very easily have developed as he matured, only he never got the chance.
Regarding Weir, it always amazes me that more lads don't decide that county football is not for them. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have had the talent and had a go, but when you think how much is sacrificed in terms of work/lifestyle/non-groupie women you'd imagine that every year or two would have a couple. Unless you're in Roscommon where you can drink away and seemingly be on the county panel anyway. To be fair to Frank, he gave it a brief try, decided he didn't want to make the commitment for whatever his reasons were, and didn't mess the county around, just said thanks but no thanks - I'd never blame a guy for that.
I don't know about the Greenes whether I'd consider them "lost" or not - I think they just reached that level - good for the club, fringe for the county - and never managed to surpass it. Intermediate could have a lot to do with it though - but we've covered this debate on the site plenty already and no doubt will again...
From a West Offaly perspective, Anthony Kelly of Shannonbridge was one lad that had way more talent than he ever really showed, bar in patches. Karol Kelly, aka Hoggot was another that reached the kind of level at 16 that Niall Mac was at a few years ago or Ken Casey is at now. Needless to say distractions have left him in the "might have been" category as well.
Mel Keenaghan could have been a lot more prominent for a lot longer than he was as well if it wasn't for some of the worst build knees in the world. (Here's hoping they don't run in the family.....)
Regarding Weir, it always amazes me that more lads don't decide that county football is not for them. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have had the talent and had a go, but when you think how much is sacrificed in terms of work/lifestyle/non-groupie women you'd imagine that every year or two would have a couple. Unless you're in Roscommon where you can drink away and seemingly be on the county panel anyway. To be fair to Frank, he gave it a brief try, decided he didn't want to make the commitment for whatever his reasons were, and didn't mess the county around, just said thanks but no thanks - I'd never blame a guy for that.
I don't know about the Greenes whether I'd consider them "lost" or not - I think they just reached that level - good for the club, fringe for the county - and never managed to surpass it. Intermediate could have a lot to do with it though - but we've covered this debate on the site plenty already and no doubt will again...
From a West Offaly perspective, Anthony Kelly of Shannonbridge was one lad that had way more talent than he ever really showed, bar in patches. Karol Kelly, aka Hoggot was another that reached the kind of level at 16 that Niall Mac was at a few years ago or Ken Casey is at now. Needless to say distractions have left him in the "might have been" category as well.
Mel Keenaghan could have been a lot more prominent for a lot longer than he was as well if it wasn't for some of the worst build knees in the world. (Here's hoping they don't run in the family.....)
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mykneehurts
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Yeh, it is all the father's fault. No bad knees on the mother's side who just happens to be from Clara and Ferbane just happened to be playing Clara the last time Mel did his knee. Coincidence? I think not!
Anyway, Mel was the lucky one. He was born in February which was perfect for football. The other two brothers got lumped with birthday's in December. Do you think this could be blamed on the father too?
Anyway, Mel was the lucky one. He was born in February which was perfect for football. The other two brothers got lumped with birthday's in December. Do you think this could be blamed on the father too?
Re: Who are the county footballers who fell by the wayside?
What was Lyons's antics here lads?duboffaly wrote: Keith Fitzpatrick - No interest after tommy lyons antics left him no interent in playing for the county again
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Lone Shark
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I wouldn't really include the two lads - I think the idea is lads that were definitely good enough but for one reason or another never realised their obvious potential.
I would see the two lads you mentioned as being good club players who never got the chance to step up to a higher grade, but hardly fellas who were clearly top class.
Mahon in particular though probably deserved a run in an O'Byrne/League campaign over the last few years. Murphy never really struck me as being quite that good, but then I wouldn't have seen him play that often.
I would see the two lads you mentioned as being good club players who never got the chance to step up to a higher grade, but hardly fellas who were clearly top class.
Mahon in particular though probably deserved a run in an O'Byrne/League campaign over the last few years. Murphy never really struck me as being quite that good, but then I wouldn't have seen him play that often.
Lyons had the lads training unreal times, they had to give up work on saturays etc just to train. Fitz was an apprectice electrician so had to work saturdays at the time. Lyons wouldnt listen and made him give up his saturdays for about 3 months and then didnt even give him a run through the league.
who could forget Paddy Stones! Plays with the comerfords in the states.
http://www.aidanmcanespiegfcboston.com/
http://www.aidanmcanespiegfcboston.com/