Strong Westmeath flavour to upcoming TG4 documentary

There is a definite Westmeath flavour to a new TV documentary which tells the story of a Dublin footballing superstar of the 1970s, Anton O'Toole. Rosemount's AnnaMay Mullins is the producer and co-director with Sarah Share of 'Anton O'Toole Finscéal de Shaol GAA' which is set to debut on December 29 at 9.20pm on TG4. However, the local connections don't stop there, with Westmeath footballer Boidu Sayeh also featuring as a contributor, along with renowned musician Cathal Guinan from Kilcormac in Offaly.

“Growing up in Westmeath our family was steeped in the GAA,” AnnaMay from Bankso Tales Productions says. “My father was from Offaly (Kilmucklin, Clara) and he always supported Offaly who played Dublin a lot during that time so we would have known all about the famous Dublin team,” she explains.

In more recent years, Dublin-based AnnaMay got to know Anton O'Toole through horse racing in Leopardstown, saying she always admired his magnetism, and the way people were drawn to him, and the conversation more often than not turned to football. “He was such a hero,” she says. “He was huge, really, really huge. People still talk about him and that team”.

Affectionately known as ‘The Blue Panther’, Anton was revered by Dublin fans throughout this career in the seventies and early eighties, a golden era for the county’s footballers. He died in 2019, aged just 68 following illness. Under legendary manager Kevin Heffernan, O’Toole, who was a classy forward, played in six All-Ireland finals in a row from 1974 to 1979. Four of those were against their famous adversary of the time, Kerry, in a rivalry that is regarded as one of the greatest ever in the history of the sport. O’Toole won four All-Ireland medals as part of the iconic ‘Heffo’s Army’ team.

The fast moving one-hour documentary is filled with nostalgia, rare archive footage and legendary songs. It tells the fascinating story of the much-loved Dublin footballer from a small in stature schoolboy’s career at Synge Street CBS to a giant of Croke Park, to a visibly ailing Anton’s continued involvement.

He is acknowledged as one of the superstar players of the iconic Dublin football team of the 1970s, who transformed the sport in the city and sparked off a Gaelic football revolution in Ireland, with changes that cemented the GAA’s place at the heart of Irish culture.

The programme, boasts a hugely impressive line-up of contributors, including singer Mary Black, a friend who sang at his funeral, soccer's Niall Quinn who says Anton was his childhood hero and a plethora of former team-mates and friends including Alan Larkin, the late Brian Mullins, David Hickey and Tony Hanahoe. Current Dublin footballer Ciaran Kilkenny speaks about how 'The Blue Panther' inspired him in more recent times, while former manager Jim Gavin and Michéal Ó Muircheartaigh, the legendary commentator, also give telling contributions in the bilingual programme.

Boidu Sayeh, who plays for Rosemount and Westmeath, knew all about the legendary Dublin/Kerry rivalry from his grandfather, and he speaks about the benefits of sport and diversity and inclusion. Cathal Guinan, a renowned musician, from Kilcormac in Offaly, also features accompanying the legendary singer Paddy Reilly on guitar as he sings Molly Malone in an empty Croke Park.

AnnaMay jokes that she thought she was calling Paddy Reilly, the footballer, instead she got through to Paddy Reilly the singer's son, who when he heard all about the show knew his Dad would want to be involved. She believes that the show's strong emotional stories will capture the hearts of all viewers not just the Gaelic football fans, and she was delighted the programme was selected as 'Show of Day' in the RTE Guide on Thursday, December 29, when it premieres on TG4 at 9.20pm. The documentary is supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.