Quigley named New York senior football captain
March 27, 2014Throw-in time brought forward for Connacht SFC First Round clash between New York and Mayo at Gaelic Park, The Bronx on May 4.
Eight past and present chairmen of the Greater New York County Board set to be honoured at centenary banquet in Queens on Saturday night.
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New York manager Ian Galvin has named Brendan Quigley as his captain ahead of May's clash with Mayo in the Connacht Senior Football Championship first round.
Quigley, a former Laois star and Aussie Rules player, recently transferred to the Donegal club in New York after a standout year for Leitrim. The role of vice-captain will be taht of Kerry's Gary O'Driscoll who won a New York senior medal under Galvin last year.
Meanwhile, the Connacht Council has agreed to a request from RTE Television to bring the May 4 throw-in forward to 7.30pm Irish time in order to facilitate the broadcast of highlights from the opening encounter of this year's All-Ireland series.
Quigley admitted he was surprised by the call but said he was ready for the added responsibility.
"To be a captain of any team is an honor," the Timahoe clubman acknowledged, "I really wasn't expecting it when Ian gave me a phone call on Thursday. But I was definitely delighted. I'm very proud to take it on."
Despite a long cold winter in New York, the big midfielder said he was delighted with how training has been going, taking into account the usual drawbacks of being 3,000 miles away from competitive football.
"It's a lot more professional than I thought it was going to be," he said.
"I know there hasn't been a match won here but every effort is being made to try and compete with Mayo. I don't know what it was like before but for this year, from what I've seen, it's close enough to what you'd be doing at home.
"We don't have the competitive games you have at home and the weather has made it tough but everything else has been done to get us up to standard."
Manager Galvin said Quigley was the obvious choice although he was quick to praise his choice for vice-captain, former Kerry player O'Driscoll.
"Brendan's experience and leadership qualities are there for all to see," said Galvin.
"He has played at the highest level at home and he has been successful at that. His commitment throughout the winter made the decision easy but Gary gave us just as much. He was one of the main reasons we won the senior club title here last year and he'll be a great voice in the dressing room."
With just over five weeks of preparation left before the visit of the All-Ireland final runners-up, Quigley is happy to take on the task of getting his team mates fully focused.
"I know what's needed, making the calls and keeping lads on the straight and narrow, making sure they're treating themselves right. We all want to make a good account of ourselves in May and I'm happy to lead the way on that."
Meanwhile, the New York GAA will be out in full force on Saturday night with the centenary banquet taking place in Queens.
The eight living past and present chairmen of the County Board will be honored on the night, a total of 40 years dedicated service between them.
Terry Connaughton, Jackie Salmon, Oliver O'Donnell, Monty Moloney, Seamus Dooley, John Riordan (Kerry), Larry McCarthy and Liam Bermingham are all part of what the latter and current chairman describe as a collective effort.
"This is a special occasion for the GAA here," noted Bermingham. "These are people who have made a huge difference and it is fitting that they're honored collectively rather than individually.
"We're also delighted to have Uachtaráin-Tofa Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Aogán Ó Fearghail with us for his first official engagement since his election. To have him here representing the GAA is a huge honor."
Co-chairman of the centenary banquet organizing committee Tom Fahey said preparations were going well and that it was a monumental occasion for the Association in the Greater New York area.
"This is really important to us," he acknowledged. "We are at a critical juncture in our development of Gaelic Park and an event like this pushes us further along the road to keeping the games thriving here.
"I have attended over 45 banquets in my time here and this is a vitally important one. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody there." Tweet
