Paddy Heaney 15/01/2008

[time ticking away]

I read Heaneys article today about unfulfilled talent. I was curious as to whom he was referring to when he spoke of the best player on his team who's career was over before it started. I wondered was it Eunan O Kane from Dungiven. I was at the poly round about that time and the Maghera lads used to rave about him.

PS. He also spoke about Karl Diamond who was the best fresher footballer i saw in my 4 years at the poly

[CSC]

Yea, I'd say it was Eunan O Kane from Dungiven that he was referring to. An unbelievable talent at that time.
But the teamin question had some great leaders. Karl, Barry McGonagle, Ryan Murphy, Dougie, Greg Simpson etc. Sheer will to win was evident throughout the entire team.

[Star Spangler]

Who's Paddy Heaney?

[spiritof91and94]

Yea, I'd say it was Eunan O Kane from Dungiven that he was referring to. An unbelievable talent at that time.
But the teamin question had some great leaders. Karl, Barry McGonagle, Ryan Murphy, Dougie, Greg Simpson etc. Sheer will to win was evident throughout the entire team.

Was big geoffrey not in that run!

[never kickt a ball]

Who's Paddy Heaney?

Him:

[Minder]

Who's Paddy Heaney?

Him:

I love the way journalists deem themselves important enough that we need a photo of them beside their column.

[THEREALGRASSROOTS]

In fairness, it's hardly the journo's decision to have the picture there, probably tied to the chair and made to smile  and besides, how would you know who to shout abuse at if you didn't know what they look like 

[Star Spangler]

Should this not be in the Local Gaa section. 

[Drumanee 1]

we all must know players in our own county that never forfilled there potential,names that jump to mind would be larry duggan,barry hienze,rory scullion,damien horrisk,just a few to get the ball rolling

[time ticking away]

Should this not be in the Local Gaa section. 

nah, if someone from Tyrone ie. me is giving someone from Derry ie. Karl Diamond, praise then everyone should know about it 

[time ticking away]

we all must know players in our own county that never forfilled there potential,names that jump to mind would be larry duggan,barry hienze,rory scullion,damien horrisk,just a few to get the ball rolling
quote]
Were you at the poly in the early 90's too

[irunthev]

Eunan and another lad called Rory Stevenson landed in London about 1992 and you could see that Eunan was on the express way to self-destruction at that time. He played a few games for St Brendans there and would appear and disappear when it suited him. He was a genius through, without a shadow of a doubt, easily the most talented individual I ever shared a field with, although not the best player, as the best player needs a heck of a lot more going for him than just raw talent. But in terms of raw talent, Eunan was special, very special.
Eunan then disappeared from London for a few years and re-appeared occasionally with his last showing being around about 1999, so I guess he was in his late 20s at the time and I hardly recognised him. He had a heap of tattoos and was about three stone heavier than he had been when I first met him.
He turned up for one game, and we were chasing the game with about ten minutes to go and out of desperation the manager threw Eunan on. You know how some guys can still do it but mightn't look like a footballer any more. Well Eunan ran on and the first ball he went for, he fell over both himself and the ball trying to pick it up and people on the sideline laughed. I could have cried. I remember Eunan playing for the Derry minors in that great team and his two goals against Cavan (I think) and I thought that these mugs on the sideline had no right to laugh at someone as talented and obviously as "lost" as Eunan was. They weren't fit to lace his boots, but at that time Eunan was barely fit to lace his own boots either. I don't suppose Eunan ever played a game of football after that.
I believe that poor Rory Stevenson was in bad car crash a few years back and is now in a desperate way. He was a lovely lad too when he was younger and a wonderful hurler and footballer.
The two of them were just two likely-lads out for the craic and while I don't know the full story about Rory, what I do know is that Eunan had that George Best thing about him and people should  pity him and be angry with him at the same time. He was an incredible talent and not only did he waste his own talent but he denied Dungiven and Derry a wonderful talent as well. At his best I would have happily paid to play on the same team as Eunan, the trouble was, his best didn't last too long. I once asked a friend of mine from Dungiven what the attitude to Eunan was about the town and he said it was a case of "If that's what Eunan wants to do, then let him. There's plenty more talent in Dungiven, so why should we bother worrying about him" I'm sure that wasn't the official opinion, but no matter how much talent there was in Dungiven, there was none quite like Eunan O'Kane.

[Drumanee 1]

we all must know players in our own county that never forfilled there potential,names that jump to mind would be larry duggan,barry hienze,rory scullion,damien horrisk,just a few to get the ball rolling
quote]
Were you at the poly in the early 90's too

naw was at another uni and it was way before the 90's,just went and watched alot of uni football and always loved the matched between the poly,queens and the ranch.some brillant players past through those places and i had the pleasure of seeing alot of them,i remeber the great ranch team of the 80's,quinn,burns,downey,rafferty,teirney and the magic queens teams in the early 90,s with brewster,tohill,mcgeaney,brolly,mccarton etc,poly always flattered to decieve,some brillant teams on paper but alot of the time did not see it through.

[Leo]

Irunthev, a terrific sympathetic piece and all too sad.

Every county has great young talent who fail to sustain a senior career - not always because of the drink or similar demons but sometimes inherent family problems, fragile personality or even burn-out.

A co-ordinated efefort within counties to deliver welfare support & counselling to clubs who ientify such problems should be adopted not just for the good of the GAA but for the good of the lads themselves.

[clootfromthe21]

Eunan and another lad called Rory Stevenson landed in London about 1992

I believe that poor Rory Stevenson was in bad car crash a few years back and is now in a desperate way. He was a lovely lad too when he was younger and a wonderful hurler and footballer.

When was the car crash?

I was out in San Francisco a couple of years ago and drinking in the company of a fella who had played minor hurling for Cork. When the missus let slip my interest in the small ball game, rather than the usual "ah sure aren't you great keeping the game going" line I was half expecting, the Cork man asked me did I know a guy called Rory Stevenson. When I asked why, he went on to say that he was the best player he had ever played on the same field as - turned out they had played both on the same team and against each other in the States.

The thought of any Cork man giving such praise to an Ulster hurler has meant it stayed in my mind.