As the people of Mayo continue to savour their epic All Ireland football win, it seems appropriate to re-read this tribute to Columban Missionary, Fr Gerry French, devoted Mayo fan, talented footballer and wonderful missionary.
The article was published by the Western People in January 2024 following Fr Gerry’s death in late December 2023. Read it here: https://www.westernpeople.ie/news/fr-gerry-was-a-devoted-priest-of-the-people_arid-6827.html
The article notes: Fr Gerry’s football talents blossomed as a student at the local St Colman’s College and he was selected for the Mayo minor panel in 1955.
Elswhere the article notes:
By the time the replay was held, Fr Gerry was preparing to enter the Columban Fathers’ seminary in Kilcolgan, his choice of religious order partly influenced by the Columbans’ proud record of achievement on the football field. Des Maguire had been on the victorious Cavan teams in 1948 and 1952, while Peter Quinn was on the Mayo team of 1950-51. In the era of the infamous clerical ban, Columban students seemed to play more GAA matches than clerics from other seminaries around the country so that was good enough for Fr Gerry.
He played a lot of football while studying in Kilcolgan and was the founder of a new football team, the Connacht Clerical Students, which comprised student priests from the province who were studying in seminaries throughout Ireland.
“We were sort of an All Stars for Connacht clergy!” he recalled with a warm smile. “We played against all the top clubs in Connacht from 1958 to 1963 and we also played Galway, Mayo and Sligo each Christmas. The team was mainly drawn from the ranks of student priests but we had a few ordained clergy as well, including Fr Martin Newell who trained St Colman’s to win the Hogan Cup in 1977.”
The clerical students played in the Shannon Medals Tournament in Ballina each year on the invitation of Gerard Courell. The games took a lot of organising, especially in an era when methods of communication and transport were worlds apart from those of today.
“I’d be ringing Balla 34,” Fr Gerry recalled. “And I’d send out letters to the lads to let them know when a match was taking place. Brendan Gilligan [whose family owned a shop in South Mayo] was very good to us and he’d borrow his father’s truck to bring us to the matches. Sean McManamon and John Creighton would do the gates with me.”
An ankle injury forced Fr Gerry to abandon his outfield exploits and pursue a new career as a goalkeeper. He played between the posts on the Claremorris side that won the county senior football championship in 1961, a career highlight that became all the more precious following his departure for the missions in South Korea in 1963.
Perhaps it was the prayers of devoted Mayo fans like Fr Gerry from above that helped Mayo lift the Sam Maguire Cup in 2026!