Killucan man revives fortunes of Birmingham GAA club
A Killucan native is at the forefront of reviving the fortunes of a Birmingham GAA club, which lost one of its stalwarts in last June’s terrorist attack in Tunisia that also claimed the lives of Westmeath couple Laurence and Martina Hayes.
Derek Heffernan had only been appointed the manager of James Connolly’s GFC, when the close-knit club was rocked with the news that one of its players, Joel Richards (19), was one of 38 tourists killed by an Islamist terrorist at the popular resort Sousse on June 26 last.
Joel, whose uncle and grandfather were also killed in the attack, joined the club at the age of 12 and was a popular member of the club.
“I hadn’t even met him but his death certainly sent shockwaves through the club,” said Derek. “He was very close to some members of the team. He was one of the ones who would have been pushing the club forward.
“We held a pre-season tournament in his name in February and it went very well.”
According to Derek, he became manager of James Connolly’s almost by accident after turning out for the club in a few games.
“I was asked to come out and play to fill a gap. I did a lot of shouting and I was asked to be manager. The Killucan U12s were the height of my managerial experience.”
The club was not in the healthiest of positions when Derek, who’s a carpenter by trade, took over, and was struggling to fulfil its fixtures in the Warwickshire league and intermediate championship.
However, he quickly galvanised his troops and three months after his appointment, the team won the JFK Cup, they also made it to a second cup final and reached the semi-final of the championship before losing to the eventual winners, Sons of Erin.
“It wasn’t long after Joel died and it was very easy for me to inspire them,” Derek says looking back.
Today, a year into his managerial tenure, James Connolly’s is in rude health. In addition to a first team squad that will be challenging for honours this summer, the club now has enough members for a second team.
Derek says that he spent his first couple of months on a recruitment drive and it has paid dividends. The former referee’s work with the club did not go unnoticed and earlier this year he was asked to manage the Warwickshire county football team.
The make-up of the county team, which plays in the All Britain Championship, is evenly split between recent emigrants and 'home-grown’ locals. Derek says that it’s a credit to the thriving GAA scene in Warkwickshire, which takes in Birmingham, Leicester and Coventry, that in a recent challenge game the local lads beat the Irish-born players.
Despite his inter-county commitments, Derek, who moved to the UK three years ago after being offered a job by former Killucan resident Declan Shanley, says that he still focused on his work with James Connolly’s. He also plays hurling for the Erin Go Bragh, is in the process of establishing Birmingham’s first Fianna Fáil Cumann, and as if that wasn’t enough, he makes it home every two weeks to see his family and friends.
He says that becoming immersed in the GAA community in his adopted home has helped his settle in England’s second city.
Declan aside, Derek says that he’s yet to meet a Westmeath person in Birmingham, which has a population of 1.1m. If any Westmeath Gaels are thinking of moving to the city, he’d love to see them join James Connolly’s, he admits.
“For the first couple of years I was a bit lost. I wouldn’t say I was exactly home sick but I came from being on the committee in Killucan and being very active in the GAA. When I came over I was home in the evenings but once I got involved I was hooked again.
“It’s a really good way of integrating and I’ve made really good friends from both the club and the county. All the lads are good.”