WEXFORD MAN Seánie McEvoy went back out to the lovely fishing city of A Coruna in the Galicia region in north-west Spain recently where he mixes an active retirement with his deep love of Gaelic football.

McEvoy has been involved with the Fillos de Breogán G.A.A. club for the past five years and is currently the Vice-Chairman.

The club boasts a massive four teams for both men and women who are made up predominantly of locals, with a subtle mix of visiting students, particularly from North America.

It’s believed that their match against Brittany was the first-ever Gaelic football game between two teams with no Irish native on the field.

As recently as March, two teams flew out to the inaugural G.A.A. World Games in Abu Dhabi to compete against the cream of the world’s talent.

The men’s team did particularly well, making the final against a Pat Spillane-managed Argentina. In the game itself they acquitted themselves superbly, forcing the clash to extra-time with a last-gasp point before going down in the added minutes.

McEvoy is 73 years old but admits that his involvement with the club wipes decades off him. He’s a regular at games and training sessions which he says can often take place from 11 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. due to the difficulty of getting available slots at municipal venues.

He also suggests that the level has risen steadily from something that would have been equivalent to Junior ‘C’ when he first signed up to help the club.

He believes that the physicality of the game is what attracted the Celtic locals to the sport.

McEvoy is very eager to make the point that Galicia is a great region for young Irish to come and study and that the club is welcoming of anyone who may be thinking along those lines in the near future.

Wexford People