Former Celtic player Willie McStay taking part in a recent Zoom call with the St Joseph's FC U-13 squad.

Former Celtic player joins St Joseph’s lads on Zoom

Kieran Galvin

Published: Wed 24 Mar 2021, 2:50 PM

The St Joseph’s FC under-13 squad had a very special guest on their weekly Zoom call recently.

Former Celtic player Willie McStay, who now manages the Glasgow club’s Academy Scouting Department, joined the Athlone youngsters in virtual fashion and relived many memories of his career with the Bhoys.

The St Joseph’s U-13 team is managed by Davy Cummins, Packie Flynn and Padraig Moran, who enjoyed a fruitful spell with Sligo Rovers for a number of seasons. And it was through the Sligo Rovers connection that Willie’s participation in the Zoom call came about.

McStay had a spell as Sligo Rovers player/manager in the 1990s, guiding the north west club to First Division and FAI Cup success in the 1993-94 season. Moran was part of that successful Rovers team who defeated a fancied Derry City outfit in the 1994 FAI Cup final.

Since Christmas, the St Joseph’s U-13 squad have taken part in weekly Zoom calls. Their guests have included former Athlone Town players Dennis Clarke, Pauric Nicholson and Adrian Carberry (also the current Athlone Town head coach).

But the Monksland-based club broadened their horizons recently by linking up with Willie McStay, the older brother of former Celtic midfield ace and Scottish international Paul McStay.

“Padraig suggested trying Willie McStay and he came up trumps for us. He accepted our invitation and he was brilliant with the lads, very down to earth,” Davy told the Westmeath Independent.

“We asked the lads to do a bit of research beforehand to help them pick the questions to ask Willie. There was no pressure on the lads to ask questions if they didn’t want to, but they all did. There was a very broad range of questions asked and they all enjoyed it.

“We have been doing the Zoom calls from a social point of view. They are not training sessions. The lads can’t go down to the pitch and they can’t go outside their 5k limit, and some of them are in different schools so they are isolated. The Zoom calls are a way of keeping the lads in touch,” Davy added.