A great occasion when Roscommon are in town
Ballinameen native, Kieran Keaveney, and his wife Tracey at a recent event in 5th & Mad, New York.
Kieran Keaveney was there when it all began.
New York’s maiden venture in the Connacht Senior Football Championship took them to Castlebar at the end of May in 1999. The Ballinameen native was on the starting 15 that afternoon, and he came on as a substitute against his native Roscommon in Dr. Hyde Park two years later — a result that kickstarted the Rossies march towards a first provincial title in ten years.
With a review of the feasibility of Connacht teams travelling to the Big Apple scheduled after Roscommon’s trip this weekend, understandably, Keaveney would like to see the initiative continue.
“When it’s Roscommon’s turn, it’s great to meet up with the folks from home. To get a live game here is great. Every county warms to it when they come out. I really hope they keep it going. It’s a great occasion.
“For the underage players here in New York, to come and meet these players is a big deal for them. The Roscommon team have a training session in Gaelic Park and a meet and greet afterwards, and they’ll meet players like Enda Smith and Diarmuid Murtagh — that will stay with them for the rest of their lives,” he noted.
Keaveney emigrated to the Big Apple in 1992. He works in construction and has a couple of bars — one in Long Island and 5th & Mad in Manhattan where there’s a big Roscommon gathering planned on Friday evening that will include interviews with former players Paul Earley, Derek Duggan and Donal Ward.
His mother Anne is “still going strong in Breedogue”. Siblings Alan, Finbar, David and Áine are in Ireland, while Colm and Conor are in the States.
“I played a lot of football with Donegal. I was player-manager when Roscommon won the intermediate title in 2009. Since then, emigration has hurt the club and it subsequently folded.
“When I came out here first, there were 20-odd clubs. If there are five now in the senior division, that’s about the height of it,” he revealed.
With emigration off the table, the emphasis has turned to the underage scene in New York.
“A good friend of mine is managing the U-17s who are going back home to play in Bekan this month. That’s where the future is because you don’t have the emigration anymore,” he stated.
As regards Roscommon’s prospects, Keaveney is upbeat about Mark Dowd’s side’s chances on Sunday, but warns New York have nothing to lose.
“They’re an unknown quantity. When you don’t have the matches, it’s hard to know what they have.
“Nobody gave them much of a chance in 2016 (against Roscommon), but they had a good team on paper. They should have pipped Roscommon that day. They ran Galway quite close one year when they weren’t given any hope, and then they went on to beat Leitrim (in 2023), which was huge for them,” he pointed out.
With a large gang of supporters making their way across the Atlantic from Boyle, Ballinameen and Frenchpark for the match, Keaveney is looking forward to a great weekend.
“We grew up mad for football and we’re still love it. There’s nothing better than seeing your county going well.
“Anything you can do to support that, you just row in. We do a bit with the Club Rossie bus sponsorship (5th & Mad is one of the main sponsors on the side of the bus). When you see young kids, including my own nieces and nephews, getting on the bus going to matches and you’re associated with that, it makes everything worth it,” he concluded.
