London GAA club welcomes Cavan footballers

With emigration unfortunately on the rise due to the economic climate, GAA clubs are expected to feel the pinch as young players head for foreign fields in search of work. Fortunately, one GAA club in London - St Brendan's - has strong Cavan connections and, according to former Cavan Gaels player Killian Phair, is an ideal outlet for any Breffni expatriates in the British capital. "The Brendans consist of many students and ex-students of the famous teacher training college in Strawberry Hill and a lot of the current batch of players are PE teachers like myself and primary teachers," explains Phair. "As it is a lot easier to get teaching jobs in London then in Ireland a lot of the boys hang around here and stay in the area and with the club. There are players from all over Ireland and there are strong Cavan connections, with the likes of myself, Ian O'Reilly (Drumgoon), Tom O'Dowd (Baileboro) Cathal Donohoe (Drung) having played for the club. "Like most clubs over in london, a lot of hard work is put in behind the scenes to make sure the club stays a float and that it achieves success. We have a great chairman in Paddy Corscadden who would go to the ends of the earth to make boys feel at home and welcome. "The club has numerous links with many people who can help in finding jobs for lads in various professions and they will help find accomodation for you in the area. Phair, who is currently amember of the London senior panel, has been playing with the St Brendan's club for four years and claims that the standard is very competitive in Londond. "After finishing my first year of my sports science degree I got speaking to the St Brendan's chairman Paddy Corscadden. He invited me down to train with the club in Osterley in south west London. After a few trainings I knew that the Brendans had some very good footballers and were definitely a good club worth joining.,2 he says. "In my first year with the Brendans we won the London Senior Championship beating Tara's in the final by two points. I was delighted with this as I had played regularly all year and was improving as a footballer and in confidence. "It was a great occasion when we lined out in Ruislip against the Kerry and Munster club champions Dr. Crokes in the All-Ireland quarter-final final in January 2007. Being on the same pitch asColm Cooper and Eoin Brosnan was something special. We performed well in the first half and went in only two points down. "However, some costly mistakes and ill-discipline in the second half allowed the Gooch to convert two penalties and a few frees to allow them to pull away." The club is made up of players from all parts of Ireland including Cavan, Down, Monaghan, Antrim, Tyrone, Derry, Longford, Kildare, Cork, Sligo, Mayo, Louth, Roscommon. • If anyone is moving to London and are interested in playing some football with a great, friendly club they are invited to get in contact with Killian Phair via email at killianphair@hotmail.com or the club email at stbrendanslondon@hotmail.com.