Click to hear Part 4 - the final chapter!

So this is the last show - it'll be broadcast on Today FM on Sunday 19th October.

Thanks everyone for listening and for your comments.

Also thanks to all the wags!

Click for podcast of Footballers' Wives Part 3 - Cork!

Mayo coverage of Footballers' Wives

Footballers Wives on Ireland AM

Christina O'Leary from Cork and Ashling Cunningham from Mayo chat to Mark and Sinéad on TV3's Ireland AM...

Tully on TV

TV3's Midday show

Footballers Wives in The Irish Sun

Footballers' Wives in the Sunday Business Post

Sunday Business Post looks at episode one...

A 'wee' trip ...

So now I've interviewed my last GAA wife and I must say it was fantastic to end on such a positive note. Sinéad Goss married Louth Captain Colin in July. When I pulled up at their amazing house in Ravensdale, just outside Dundalk, the tiler greeted me from the cab of a digger (finishing touches to the house!). Sinéad is just 100% positive about his involvement in football. Yes she misses out on the nights out with her new husband and all the rest, but try as I may, I could not get any GAA bashing out of her whatsoever! The couple's 2 year old daughter is also mad into it - they usually have a job trying to explain to her that she doesn't need to get her Louth strip on when Daddy's heading off for training....

You can hear Sinéad's interview on Today FM @10am on Sunday 19th October or it will be podcasted here also!

Click for Podcast of Footballers' Wives Part 2

In part two I visit beautiful Gweedore in County Donegal where I catch up with newlywed Sarah Gallagher who faced a dilemma when her groom had to choose between their wedding and a championship match!

After that I drive across to Warrenpoint in County Donegal where I meet with Briege Austin who misses the Football life now that husband Liam Austin has turned his attention to the fairways.

Next week its South to the Rebel County where I hook up with Cork Goalie Alan Quirke's fiancee Christina O'Leary and another GAA bride to be, Caitriona O'Brien...

Click for podcast of Footballers' Wives Part 1

In the first episode, I speak to Ashling Cunningham, girlfriend of Mayo's Alan Dillon, Cathy Egan; mother of 7 and all round wonderwoman from Aclare County Sligo and Laura Hegarty, financee of Mayo's Aiden higgins.

This episode was broadcast on Sunday 28th September 2008 @ 10am.

Next week we head North to Gweedore and across to Warrenpoint, Co. Down.

On air...

The series is now going out after the Championship, beginning at 10am on the 28th of September!

Footballing fiance's...

Back in the drivers seat this morning I went on the stunning journey from Ballina to Aclare, County Sligo, around Lough Talt. I followed a narrow boreen up to the home of Tommy Flemming - and his neighbour Laura Hegarty. Well, while this is Laura's family home, she doesn't seem to get to stay very long in one place. The telecoms/IT engineer is engaged to Mayo's Aiden Higgins. This couple have the most unbelievable weekly schedule - Aiden works in Dublin but trains in Mayo two nights a week, after which he drives back to the capital, getting home in the wee hours. At the weekends he heads back to Mayo for a match or two while Laura, who plays for the local ladies team, also heads to the football field. When in God's name do they manage the wedding plans I hear you cry!!! Laura and Aidan are truly dedicated to football and not surprisingly it dominates conversation in their Dublin home. Laura says Aiden is lucky to have a partner who plays football and can understand the madness! They've never been on a summer holiday in their 6 year history together - the nearest they got was a trip to Chicago wedding shopping....poor Aiden! An incidentally Laura is a Sligo woman and would not be caught dead in a Mayo jersey!

The Wild West....

Its back to the West for me today - Castlebar to be exact, to the home of giggly Ashling Cunningham. Ashling, a spa supervisor, is up to her eyes setting up her new beauty salon in Castlebar but kindly frees herself from ordering glass bricks to make me a cup of tea. We spend the afternoon chatting about her significant other - Mayo's Alan Dillon. Ashling is absolutely positive on one thing - she knows nothing about football and has no interest in it either. She reckons this is the key to a successful relationship with a footballer! Ashling says there is no glamour involved in being a GAA wag and laughs at the thought of girls dolling themselves up in the hope of catching themselves a footballer. She says its a hard life flying the flag alone at weddings and parties but she's more then capable of getting out and doing her own thing. Every year, even though she knows the answer already, she asks Alan if he fancies a summer break! Ashling would NEVER wear a jersey to a Mayo game and if you hear a voice from the stands asking what's going on during a game - that's probably her!! Although I think she's a bit more interested in football then she lets on....

No such thing as moody "blues"!!

I met up with Keira Doyle this evening in Today FM studios in Dublin. Keira is a glamarous PR executive but is also the girlfriend of Dubs ace Bernard Brogan. As Bernard comes from one of the most famous footballing families in the county (Dad, uncle Jim, and brothers Alan and Paul are all involved) its tough for Keira to get away from all things GAA! Luckily she loves every minute of it. As Bernard's childhood sweetheart, Keira is well used to sharing her man with the game but she thanks her lucky stars that he goes home to his mammy with his dirty training gear! She reckons she's a movie expert since the cinema is really as good as the social life gets during the Championship season. Keira says the Brogan household is really geared up this year and she's got a feeling this could be the one for the Dubs!

Kilworth's No.1 fan...

I'm still in Cork and today I'm off to Silversprings to the O'Brien household. Catríona O'Brien, financee of Kilworth's Kieran Walshe and sister of Cork and Nemo's Séan O'Brien is in an ideal position to tell us is there's any difference in training for the inter-county seniors when compared with senior club football. The answer is a resounding NO.

Catríona assembled a panel to discuss the topic - her Mum & Dad and her in-laws to be and over tea and sambos I got blow by blow accounts of what is like to be the girlfriend/fiancee/mother and father of a footballer (and a hurler, which in fact is Kieren's forte)!

Would she wear a jersey? She certainly would - and the team tracksuit, jacket and hairband! This girl goes all-out to support her man and will never complain about his GAA ways as she wants him to be happy...ahhh!

The Rebel County...

Due South today to have a cuppa and a chat with Christina O'Leary, fiancee of Cork goalie Alan Quirke. Christina is the epitome of tolerance! Not only is Alan training for club and county (like the rest of them) but as he's a member of the defence forces, he's also away a lot with work. The couple recently got engaged and are planning to get married next year.

As I'm shown into their stylish Turner's Cross pad, the pair of them have one eye on me and one eye on the Armagh/Fermanagh Ulster Championship clash. I feel a bit bad dragging Christina away from it as she exclaims "did you see that ball Alan....". As we set up for the interview, Alan skulks upstairs to watch the rest.

Christina, like Sarah up in Donegal, would never wear a jersey but is at all the games. She used to play a bit of football herself as a child and admits openly that she loves it. She tells me all about the good times; All-Ireland medals, winning team holidays, and the bad times; All-Ireland runners up and the stick the lads have to take. She reckons its especially difficult for the goalies...

Up North...

Today I battled traffic jams of eager value seekers on the M1 and headed North to Warrenpoint in County Down to the home of Down footballing legend Liam Austin. Liam was off playing in the USA but it was his wife Briege I was there to see.

On one of her first dates with Liam, the couple were told to go home while out for dinner. Loyal fans were concerned that late nights out would hamper Liam's performance on the field. Briege has certainly experienced the highs and lows of being a footballer's wife! From near starvation while on the charity functions circuit to arguing her way onto the team coach when Down won the All- Ireland.

She loved every moment of Liam's involvement in the GAA though and the couple have made friends for life out of fellow players and their partners. Now that Liam's retired from play, (he still trains nonetheless) Briege really enjoys her summer holidays - definitely a luxury after years of holidaying in November!

Beautiful Donegal...

I head even further West today, North West to be exact - up to breathtaking Gweedore in County Donegal.  The drive from Letterkenny to the seaside village of Derrybeg must be one of the most beautiful our island has to offer!  Starry-eyed (and after a few attempts to find the place), I arrive at the Gallagher family's hotel in Derrybeg. Sarah Gallagher comes out to meet me on the driveway and I immediately felt I should have made a little more effort with myself.  Sarah, brand new wife of Donegal captain Kevin Cassidy is one glamorous lady! 

  This pair hit the headline's a couple of months ago when Kevin faced a "McBarron situation" as I now like to call it.  On June 1st, Kevin Cassidy donned his boots knowing if his team, Donegal, beat Derry in that day's Ulster Championship  first round clash, they would have to play their next game on the 21st of June... his wedding day.  Not only would this cause a slight difficulty for his bride to be, it would also decimate his guest list!  Sarah gave me the full insight into how a blushing bride handles such a dilemma...

Go West....

Today I hit the N4 and headed West to Aclare, Co. Sligo, home of Neil Egan, former Sligo footballer, selector, winning manager of Tourlestrane seniors and current manager of the Tourlestrane juniors.  More importantly for this exercise, its also the home of Cathy Egan - wife of one and mother of seven footballers.

Its the 5th of July and the Egan family's gigantic  Irish wolfhound greets me in the driveway of their home which is decked in star spangled banners.  Cathy Egan is originally from Detroit and met her husband Neil after he was announced as the new 'secret weapon' of the Detroit Pádraig Pearse GAA team. Their first date was at a football game.  They got married - he wore football socks with the tux.  They went on honeymoon - and had to come home early for a game.  

After adding three football fans to the nest, the family settled in Ireland and as Cathy says, the Tourlestrane adventure began!

Cathy & Neil now have seven footballers under their roof (two girls, five boys) - they don't put up pictures anymore as too many have fallen foul of stray footballs, unfortunately windows are more of a necessity.

 

Where it all began...

About 4 years ago (never one to rush into things), I heard the story of Fermanagh Gaelic footballer Liam McBarron and how the only way he was going to make his own wedding, was to fly in a helicopter provided by local billionaire S
éan Quinn.  The problem was, his team's success in the Championship, meant he was playing a match on his wedding day.  At the time the talk was all about how generous Mr. Quinn was (indeed he was) - but what was revolving around my head was how generous the impending Mrs. McBarron was to accept this behavior!  In my subsequent years sitting alongside the all-knowledgeable Paul Collins to bring the nation the news on Ian Dempsey's Breakfast Show, I heard this story time and time again - maybe not with as glamorously dramatic circumstances, but similar tales of brides twitching at the alter awaiting their beau, or indeed proud mammy's waiting nervously at the baptismal font for their co-producer to change out of his shorts and into the suit! So I decided to make it my business to find out just what the wives and partners of some of our finest footballers put up with.  After securing funding from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland I hit the highways and byways of Ireland in search of some of the nation's most patient, dedicated and committed women...