Brothers' Faithful switch gets green light
February 28, 2010The highly-rated siblings are now free to play for the Faithful County under the parentage rule after their transfer was approved by the Dublin county board this week.
The brothers have represented Dublin at minor and under 21 level and while older brother John was part of the Dublin senior panel a few years ago, he is still be eligible to play for the Faithful County under the parentage rule. Offaly's failure to win a provincial football title in the past 10 years also allowed them to switch their inter-county allegiances without leaving their home club, St. Sylvester's.
The Malahide pair are nephews of legendary Offaly hurling full back Eugene Coughlan, who won All-Ireland medals in 1981 and '85. They also have family connections with neighbouring Westmeath, but the Lake County's Leinster championship win six years ago makes them ineligible to play for Brendan Hackett's side.
Both brothers were involved in DIT's Sigerson Cup campaign last year, with John starting in the final defeat to CIT while Niall was a half-time replacement. John was a midfield mainstay on the Dublin minor team which reached the 2003 All-Ireland final, but failed to establish himself on the senior team thereafter.
Recently, Cavan also availed of the same parentage rule to secure the services of St. Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh captain Gareth 'Nesty' Smith, who also represented Dublin at both underage and senior level. Tweet
