Westmeath’s All-Star goalie who also shone for Athlone Town
“For the life of me, I can’t fathom why Gary Connaughton isn’t the All Star goalie.”
That was the first unprompted remark from then Derry manager Paddy Crozier, after his side had been decisively beaten by Westmeath in a league match in February 2007.
The imposing Tubberclair man had yet again excelled between the posts, a couple of months after his second nomination for the cúlbáire slot had been unsuccessful – losing out to Stephen Cluxton – having also been edged out by Diarmuid Murphy in 2004, the Lake County’s historic Delaney Cup-winning year. Thankfully, Gary went on to receive the prized statuette which he so richly deserved in 2008.
Gary (42), the eldest of four siblings, was following in the footsteps of other Tubberclair net-minders, Carthage Conlon and Alan Cunningham, with a long stint in the Westmeath number one jersey in what was a glorious period in the county’s chequered history. Indeed, he is hopeful that “the two good goalies we have now, the Fagan brothers, Kevin and Simon” will maintain that impressive trend in years to come.
Gary’s parents, Charlie and Kathleen (née Nolan) are both natives of Tubberclair, and despite his tremendous achievements for his county in Gaelic football, and his country in soccer, it is very clear that the fortunes of those wearing his club’s green and gold jerseys mean an enormous amount to him.
His first experience of organised football was in Tubberclare NS under one of the competition’s most ardent drivers, school principal Vincent Keating, and later under the latter’s son Oliver, an outstanding Westmeath defender in the 1990s and nowadays principal in the same school. Gary won an impressive haul of four Cumann na mBunscol medals, and also lost a final to Coosan NS for whom Dessie Dolan and Joe Fallon starred.
Unsurprisingly, another future Westmeath star, Fergal Wilson was “excellent” in many of the school’s victories. “For the first of those wins I was a corner-forward, but I was never really any good outfield. From fourth class onwards when Vincent was looking for a goalie, I volunteered, and I have been there ever since,” Gary adds.
His imposing frame has scared off many an opposition forward over the years, but Gary states, “I didn’t really grow until about the age of 14/15.” At that stage he was a student in Marist College, Athlone.
“It was a strong school at both Gaelic football under John Parker and soccer under the late Paddy Walsh. Nowadays, rugby is very prominent given the achievements of past pupils Robbie Henshaw and Jack Carty. In Gaelic, I played for three years on what were talented senior teams, but we lost out to Wexford sides each time – Good Counsel, New Ross beat us twice and St Peter’s the other time. In soccer, I played in a Connacht schools final, but we were beaten by a strong Summerhill College, Sligo team.”
By now, Gary’s reputation as a top goalkeeper in both codes of football was growing. “From about the ages of 14 to 20, I must have played for about 50 different teams – the Marist in both, St Francis, Athlone Town and the Republic of Ireland in soccer, and Westmeath and Tubberclair at all levels in Gaelic, but all I wanted to do was play football,” he recalls.
“Some Westmeath underage teams weren’t as organised then as they are now, but the minors winning the All-Ireland in 1995 lifted all boats. I was an U16 that year. The previous year, as a fan on a bus organised by Tubberclair, I was on the pitch in Enniskillen after the seniors beat Derry, and I stood on Hill 16 watching them playing Meath in the league semi-final. It was awful then to go and lose to Louth in the championship.”
Gary was Westmeath’s minor ‘keeper when they were well beaten by Longford in the 1997 Leinster MFC, but soccer called again soon. Well-known Roscommon goalie Shane Curran was his rival for the number one jersey with Athlone Town from 1998 onwards.
Gary recalls: “Liam Buckley as player/manager and Jimmy Greene were in charge. They were both very professional. In my first year, we got to an FAI Cup semi-final beating Shamrock Rovers 2-1 along the way. Rovers’ supporters weren’t happy after it, and it was like being in Galatasaray with what was being said to me by fans behind the goals! That remains one of my favourite games. Like what happened when we beat Dublin in 2004 in Croke Park, I was lucky to have been on teams which beat two of the biggest names in Irish sport.”
The ultimate recognition as a soccer player ensued when none other than Brian Kerr invited Gary into the Irish youths’ panel, as he recounts: “I spent a week in Portugal with the squad. Brian and the late Noel O’Reilly were very organised and it was an honour to play for Ireland.
“One time when we did early morning training in front of the hotel, Brian said, ‘This is what the Clare hurlers are doing back home!’ I played against Austria and I have that cap framed. A couple of months later, a star-studded team won the European championship when I was on standby.”
Newcastle and Kenny Dalglish
He is proud to have trained under and with three former Ireland goalies, Packie Bonner, Shay Given and David Forde. An even bigger football legend took an interest in Gary, also in 1998, when he was invited for a week’s trial at Newcastle United, then managed by Kenny Dalglish.
Gary explains: “Liam (Buckley) rang and told me to pack my bags. Newcastle were preparing for the FA Cup final against Arsenal. That week opened my eyes to goalkeeping coaching at the top level. I was put up in digs and only met Kenny on the last day when he said, ‘How are you big man? How are they all in Ireland?’.
"Pat Devlin was the scout who sent me over. Shay Given gave me a lift back to my digs one day in his fancy sports car. He and Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes were very sound to me.”
In 2000, Gary played on the losing side for Athlone Town in a League Cup final against Derry City in the Brandywell. Another fond memory is of joining an elite club of goalkeepers who have scored (other than from penalty kicks), doing so from a goal-kick against Home Farm Everton.
He also got an U21 call-up from Don Givens in 2000 for a friendly with Greece in Newbridge on the day before Westmeath's All-Ireland U21 semi-final defeat to Limerick, but the former Irish star striker didn’t take kindly to the sight of Gary’s mucky football boots from his GAA escapades “in a dressing room full of shiny polished boots”. Indeed, a promised run in the match didn’t materialise with Givens shaking his head as Gary went to the sink to clean his footwear!
“I was honoured to have played for Athlone Town. Adrian Carberry was a team mate of mine. Television has become saturated with soccer as Sky has created a monster of sorts. In general, it is very hard for Irish lads to get a break in England now. I enjoyed the football side of things in Newcastle, but not the sitting around in the digs. I wasn’t cut out for that life. You’d want to be full of confidence, which I wasn’t,” he concludes in relation to his soccer career.
It is, of course, as arguably Westmeath’s finest Gaelic football goalkeeper that thousands of previously success-starved maroon and white-clad fans will remember Gary. Brendan Lowry was the first Westmeath bainisteoir to ask him on board, but soccer commitments prevented him from accepting the Offaly man’s invitation. Similarly, Luke Dempsey wanted Gary for his 1999 U21 panel and his declining that request meant an All-Ireland medal went abegging.
However, Gary did commit in 2000 and a Leinster U21 medal was his reward. Gary takes over: “It was absolutely brilliant to beat Meath in that final, but we took our eye off the ball for the next game. People were prematurely talking about the All-Ireland final. It was a disaster of an evening in Portlaoise and Limerick were the hungrier team. That’s a huge regret as I would have loved to have played in a final against Tyrone.”
From Sunderland to South Africa
In the ensuing couple of years, Gary concedes: “I wasn’t committed to either Gaelic or soccer for a while, and I was enjoying my nights out." But when Páidí Ó Sé was appointed manager in 2003, "everybody wanted to play with Westmeath" he adds. "From Sunderland to South Africa, it was the best 12 months ever – an amazing year which couldn’t really get any better.”
Like many of his colleagues, Gary’s only regret about 2004 was the All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Derry after a first Delaney Cup had been memorably garnered. “It would have been something else to have played Kerry in a semi-final with Páidí in charge, like Micko (Dwyer) managing Kildare against them in 1998. It was very upsetting when Páidí died so young in 2012. Results were up and down a bit after 2004, but I have great time for Tomás (Ó Flatharta) for all he did for Westmeath,” he continues.
“In 2006, beating Galway in Salthill was great” (Ja Fallon may not remember Gary’s display as fondly as visiting fans do!) – “and even Markievicz Park in Sligo in the previous round had a great atmosphere, while going on to play Dublin in the quarter-final in front of 82,000 people in Croke Park was fabulous. It was a much closer outcome than when we play them nowadays,” he adds.
The year 2008 also provided Gary with another career highlight in the league, as well as a couple of frustrating near-misses in the championship. He recalls: “I was joint-captain with Dessie (Dolan) in Navan when we beat Dublin in the Division 2 final – even though I never got my medal since! Dublin in Leinster was a game we should have won, and likewise with (All-Ireland champions-elect) Tyrone in Omagh in the Qualifiers. Tyrone were a bit cuter on the day with their old antics. You have to be cute to win, but it was a great year overall.”
The year culminated with a belated first All Star for Gary and a second for John Keane. “Tomás tipped me off that he’d heard I was going to get it and my phone was hopping when it was officially announced. The All Star trip was to San Francisco and I roomed there with the ‘Gooch’ (Colm Cooper). We weren’t long there when we went to the pub with Darragh Ó Sé. There I was with two of the biggest legends in the game watching the Champions League. Páidí (Darragh’s uncle) was mentioned once or twice in the pub,” Gary jovially adds.
After Tomás’ exit from Westmeath, Brendan Hackett had a short reign in charge, followed by Pat Flanagan (“a great players’ manager”). Darren Quinn had taken over the goalkeeping duties when Paul Bealin was in the Westmeath hot seat for a win-less year, but Gary answered the call of Tom Cribbin (“another great players’ manager”) to be a selector when the Kildare man was appointed.
Ostensibly retired as a player, Gary showed that class is permanent when he put in a man of the match performance in Newbridge in March 2015 to inflict a first-ever National League defeat on Kildare. Another few games in the league ended Gary’s inter-county playing days (“I was hanging on in my later years, but I loved playing for the county”).
However, his original role yielded a more famous ‘first-ever’ in June, one (of many!) memorable post-match photos showing selector Gary joyously embracing Cribbin after a Lazarus-like comeback against Meath in the Leinster semi-final.
“My fellow-selector Pearse Corroon came up with a couple of great tactical changes that day, and all the subs who came on made great contributions," says Gary.
"We were never going to beat the Dubs in the final, unfortunately. Dublin bring in a couple of new players every year to freshen things up like Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United (a club which Gary fervently supports). I compliment the Dublin players, but there’s no interest any more in the Leinster championship. It’s dead in the water.
“There was great interest in it between the mid-1990s and the mid-noughties when a range of counties could win it, including ourselves. Hopefully, John Connellan’s campaign about money will help. He is 100 per cent right about distributing funding, but even that will take years to reap any rewards. The likes of John Heslin, Kieran Martin and Ger Egan would have probably won two Leinster championships in any other era.
“I packed it in after 2015. I have been asked by other counties since to get involved, but I turned them down as I don’t enjoy watching hours and hours of videos. The inter-county game has become so tactical,” Gary opines.
Gary was also selected for Leinster by a number of managers. He recalls: “I lost the 2004 Railway Cup final in Paris under Luke (Dempsey). In the 2006 final in Boston, Val Andrews and ‘Pillar’ Caffrey were in charge. Joe Sheridan got a fabulous late winning goal for us, not like the one he got against Louth in 2010!”
Indeed, that year saw Gary coming close to picking up an Irish cap in a second sport, as he recalls: “For the International Rules series in 2010 under Anthony Tohill, I was playing well in the trials. There was an uncertainty as to whether (Stephen) Cluxton would play or not. Then one Friday when I thought I was early on the pitch in Parnell Park, there was Cluxton warming up a half an hour before me! I knew that I wasn’t going to make it ahead of him, but it was a great experience being involved in the trials. Kevin O’Brien and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín were the selectors and they both encouraged me, but they could see my form visibly drop when Cluxton arrived.”
With Westmeath memorably competing against virtually every big county during Gary’s sojourn between the sticks, he faced almost every forward of note in the land. He respected all the household names who opposed him, but he makes a point of throwing in a lesser-known name in Longford’s Paul Barden (“a marvellous footballer”). In relation to the Westmeath club scene, he states: “I hated playing against Gary Dolan as he nearly always seemed to get a goal against me.”
A passionate Tubberclair club man, Gary won a Westmeath minor ‘B’ medal in 1997, defeating Rosemount in final. In relation to his long adult club career, he reflects: “We won the intermediate championship in 2002 by beating Tang under Danny Sammon with a very young team. ‘Beano’ Cassells was our captain. We hoped for a decent run at senior level but Garrycastle started to dominate the scene, and it just didn’t happen for us.
"We were eventually relegated back to intermediate, but in 2009 we won again under Tom Lennon, with Gerry Walker and Malachy Buckley helping him. We had five county players then and got to a Leinster intermediate final, beating Walsh Island in the semi-final in what was probably my best game ever for the club. We lost then to Maynooth on a pitch that looked like a herd of cattle had been on it!
“We went back up to senior, but Athlone relegated us in what was Robbie Henshaw’s last Gaelic match. We lost the intermediate finals in 2015 and 2016 and eventually ended up being relegated to junior.” Gary was a selector when Tubberclair won the 2020 Westmeath junior title under Martin McCabe
Recalling that his uncle Billy Connaughton captained Carmelite College, Moate in their debut appearance in the Hogan Cup final of 1975, where they lost by a point to St Colman’s, Newry, Gary adds: “Matthew Whittaker is a grandson of Billy’s, and he is a great prospect. We have great facilities with floodlights, dressing rooms, and a training pitch at the back. What people have done for the club over the years has been excellent. It is a great set-up for underage lads.”
After leaving secondary school, Gary worked for over a decade in his father’s well-established sand and gravel business, at which stage he returned to education and obtained a Master's in Business Studies in Athlone IT.
“Garry Sammon and Gordon Brett looked after me very well in the college between sport and academic matters, and I was delighted to get to play in two Sigerson Cup semi-finals,” he adds. Nowadays, Gary lives “on the shores of Lough Ree” and works in nearby Athlone in the Department of Education.
Gary’s sporting legacy is undoubtedly assured. From jumping the bench for the pre-match team photo with a reversed baseball cap on his head, to a string of top-class saves in the games which ensued, preventing a range of goals – and umpteen points in his own unique style – Gary Connaughton will forever be mentioned when conversations turn to naming Westmeath’s finest-ever goalkeepers.
*This is an edited version of a feature article written by Gerry Buckley and included in ‘Laochra Gael na hIarmhí’. The book is available to purchase in the Westmeath Independent offices in Athlone and in the Westmeath Examiner offices in Mullingar.