Kevin will be sure of a warm welcome

SCOTLAND GAA will welcome Kevin Cassidy to their prestigious Gala Dinner as an honorary guest at Celtic Park on Friday March 28—an event to help raise funds towards the re-development of Pearse Park Centre for Culture and Sport.

Kevin Cassidy is a former Gaelic football player with Gaoth Dobhair and Dun na nGall. However, Kevin—who had an extremely distinguished playing career both with his club and his county—unbeknownst to some was actually born in Hamilton, Scotland. The family bucked the trend of so many immigrants and families before them, of moving from Scotland back to Ireland, when for many generations of Irish families, it was the majority who moved from Ireland abroad.

Kevin played football for his local club Gaoth Dobhair and also played for the County Minor team. He made the break through to the Donegal Senior team in 2002 and although defect came in the Ulster Final against eventual All-Ireland Champions Armagh, he was awarded an All-Star for his fine performances throughout the year. In 2006, Donegal were again defeated by Armagh in an Ulster Final and Kevin then spent some summers in the USA playing his football in Boston.

Success for Kevin, however, came at club level with Gaoth Dobhair winning Donegal Senior Football Championships in 2002 and 2006. As one of the club giants in Donegal took their place as the most successful club in the county with Senior titles and continuing the famous legacy of the Gaoth Dobhair teams from the 1940s and 50s and their last win since 1961.

During this period, the honours also kept coming through with Sigerson Cup wins with Sligo IT and then his first Senior honour with Donegal when they won the National Football League in 2007, which was the county’s first piece of silverware since the famous 1992 All-Ireland win.

After Donegal’s exit in the 2010 Championship, Kevin had announced his intention to retire from county football but was persuaded otherwise by the new incoming manager Jim McGuiness to continue on. That decision resulted in Kevin winning his first Ulster Senior Football Championship in 2011 vs Derry and the first Ulster title for Donegal in 19 years. A long range winning point kicked by Kevin in added time at the end of extra-time in the titanic quarter final v Kildare in Croke Park took Donegal through to an All-Ireland semi-finals where they defeated by eventual winners Dublin. Again despite defeat in the semi-final, his performance throughout the season resulted in Kevin being awarded his 2nd All-Star award.

The semi-final against Dublin in 2011 was Kevin’s last ever game for his beloved Donegal and he wasn’t part of the panel that saw the county win their second only All-Ireland title in 2012 with victory over Mayo.

However, Kevin’s club career still proved to be as successful when representing John McBride’s in Chicago over a number of summers and helping the club win Chicago Championships.

Kevin’s finest and proudest moment was saved for his club Gaoth Dobhair. In 2018, they regained a Donegal Championship title with a 0-17 to 1-07 win over Naomh Conaill from Glenties. The club then went on to claim their first Ulster Senior Club Championship title beating Scotstown (Monaghan) in extra time with a 0-13 to 0-12 victory.

Kevin’s career outside the football pitches has taken him from school teaching in Letterkenny to a pub landlord in Teach Mhici in Derrybeg. When Kevin moved to Ireland, he immersed himself in the local culture and is a fluent gaeilgeoir and can often be heard commentating on Gaelic Games in Ireland with TG4.

Scotland’s Gaelic Games community is extremely proud of our native son’s achievements throughout his career, and we welcome his return home at our Gala event in Celtic Park at the end of the month.