St. Brendan’s had just 12 players turn up for their London reserve football championship match with Round Towers last month after several players failed to show on the morning of the game.
Brendan’s have been in Greenford, a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, since 1956 and reserve manager and club secretary John Bo Daly thinks that club chairman, and makeshift full-forward, Paddy Corscadden has been there for just about all of them.
“He’s been involved donkey years,” said Daly, the side’s reserve manager. “There’s black and white pictures of him on the website so that tells you a lot.”
Corscadden, Peter MacNalley, 60, and John Malone, 58, all stepped up to play for the undermanned side who had advanced to their championship semi-final with a 2-4 to 1-5 loss to Round Towers.
Corscadden and Malone led the line for Brendan’s while Peter manned the nets as the club stalwarts togged out to ensure that the game could be played.
“Paddy is our chairman, John has been here a long, long time and Peter MacNalley has been the referee for our club for a good few years,” said Daly.
“John and Paddy togged out for our first team last year too and we’d a whole thing were there was a stag on and we couldn’t get the game changed and the two lads played and we lost that game to Parnells and we lost by only four or five points.
“There’s a great picture as well of Paddy nearly getting in for a goal, they’re making a yearly habit of it. We stick Paddy in the square and at the start of the second-half he nearly got a goal after a shot into the wind was spilled and Paddy got in on it and got a shot away but the goalkeeper saved it off for a 45.”
Daly added that the commitment shown by MacNalley, Malone and Corscadden is a testament to their commitment as people but that it also speaks to the bond that they have at Brendan’s where many players strive to help each other out, not just when they’re short of numbers on matchday.
“We’re not divided into football and hurling. We’re essentially one team and we do everything together.
“It’s a great hub because I even got my job here through the club. There’s a couple of other guys who got jobs through a principal. There’s a culture over here over everyone trying to help each other out and I think it’s one of the best parts about the GAA.
“I knew one person in London before I came over but when I joined at the club I was straight away immersed with 20 to 30 lads of all different ages and who all have something in common. We’re all just looking to have a bit of craic and play a bit of football. Everyone will take care of everyone and we all just look after each other.”
