Eligibility Rules, Okay

**geysir** · 15/04/2011, 12:42 PM

Harry Keegan - Castlerea

**paul_oshea** · 15/04/2011, 12:46 PM

The roscommon footballer, who now lives in Dubln. Ya ok, fair enough

Thats one. But I believe nearly all that family are now gone - along with Kevin keegans grandfathers obviously....we banished them like St Patrick banished the snakes.

I'm sure there are some, its not a name I ever familiarised with Roscommon though, like say kelly or egan(that ending name

) or o'connor etc.

Or to a lesser extent, after a think, flynn, towey/tuohy, reilly,mcdermott,regan.

**Eminence Grise** · 15/04/2011, 1:14 PM

You forgot the Beirne clan. Can't throw a stone over a wall in Roscommon without hitting one of 'em.

I heard years ago, when he was playing, that Brian Kilcline was eligible for us and had Roscommon connections too. Apparently he had a cousin of the same surname working in Roscommon town.

Never knew about the Keegan connection to Castlerea, and that's pretty much my neck of the woods.

**paul_oshea** · 15/04/2011, 1:24 PM

Yes Beirne or byrne or berne, how did i forget that and I went to school with so many of them.

I don't think anyone said keegans connection was to castlerea, geysir was just showing that he knew a keegan in castlerea, only jokin, but the point was there could be a connection. Harry keegan is/was from tarmon, im sure he would have been tarmon before kevins if they didn't amalgamate and throw all sort of non-mixing colours together to form an even uglier and eye burning jersey than carlow.

Id nearly be 100% sure that kevin keegan has no connection to castlerea, I mean I'm sure I would have heard it before if he had.

**geysir** · 15/04/2011, 3:44 PM

If I were from Roscommon (thank féck for that big mercy) I'd claim our Kev - perm or no perm.
It's not as if Roscommon is a breeding ground for US presidents.

**Eminence Grise** · 15/04/2011, 3:46 PM

Yeah - I'd be pretty sure if there was a Keegan connection to Castlerea somebody would have organised a festival or summer school by now!

**Eminence Grise** · 15/04/2011, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by geysir

If I were from Roscommon (thank féck for that big mercy) I'd claim our Kev - perm or no perm.
It's not as if Roscommon is a breeding ground for US presidents.

We have residency laws to keep the likes of yeh out! And a bloody big river down one side!!

Anyway, we managed to supply our own first president: anything after that is a come down!!

**paul_oshea** · 15/04/2011, 3:52 PM

Originally Posted by geysir

If I were from Roscommon (thank féck for that big mercy) I'd claim our Kev - perm or no perm.
It's not as if Roscommon is a breeding ground for US presidents.

No Tipperary in general seems to be the breeding ground for famous irish americans. whatever came from tipp though?

Ya the grise took the words out of my mouth. We have always been an open and embracing county, very multi - cultured too, not only did we produce great writers from all walks of life, but we produced our own president, who of course was a Protestant.

**paul_oshea** · 15/04/2011, 3:52 PM

Originally Posted by Eminence Grise

Yeah - I'd be pretty sure if there was a Keegan connection to Castlerea somebody would have organised a festival or summer school by now!

There is, Joe Henry did, he just didn't play football at it

**geysir** · 15/04/2011, 3:53 PM

Golf notes

Castlerea
The winner of Sunday March 27th Stableford Competition, sponsored by Cllr Michael Creaton was: 1st Peter Hester 41 pts; 2nd Kevin Keegan 41 pts; Cat 1 Liam Walsh 40 pts; Cat 2 Eamonn Connelly 39 pts; Cat 3 Giles McDonagh 37 pts.

**paul_oshea** · 15/04/2011, 3:55 PM

Ok I give up, I actually know them too :red:

**geysir** · 15/04/2011, 4:04 PM

Whatever a Detective Garda gets paid in Roscommon, it isn't half enough.

**Eminence Grise** · 15/04/2011, 5:09 PM

Hey, POS. I reckon friend geysir is showing far too much knowledge of - and interest in - Roscommon for an outsider, and his protestations of disdain ring too loud to be true. I say we bestow upon him the title of Honorary Rossie.

Whether he likes it or not.

**Junior** · 15/04/2011, 6:29 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Really, Ive never heard that one about keegan. Keenan is a common name in Roscommon, thats not that common elsewhere but not really keegan...

The family's neighbours back in Roscommon are Keegans!

**BonnieShels** · 15/04/2011, 7:57 PM

We had an entire thread hijacked by Roscommomism. Ye are never bloody well happy. Another one bites the dust.

If there is a link between King Kev and Termonbarry I think that really we were on the money with it being the rue home of Irish soccer and also the scary part being that it came to pass at any rate.

**irishfan86** · 15/04/2011, 8:40 PM

Better the Roscommonist takeover than a Northern one in these eligibility threads!

**Eminence Grise** · 15/04/2011, 9:36 PM

Originally Posted by irishfan86

Better the Roscommonist takeover than a Northern one in these eligibility threads!

Absolutely. We're more than pleased to break bread with those of you with the misfortune not to have at least one Rossie grandparent. Happy-go-lucky, that's us.

**DannyInvincible** · 15/04/2011, 11:16 PM

What fortune. With a mother from Ballaghaderreen, I'm blessed to be able to grace both takeovers.

Interestingly, as a legacy from the time before the Local Government Act of 1898 when Ballaghaderreen was transferred from County Mayo to County Roscommon, the town's GAA team partakes in the Mayo league, having steadfastly refused to break its affiliation with the Mayo County Board back then. I'm pretty sure my mother's GAA loyalties rest with Roscommon though.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 16/04/2011, 1:19 AM

All these wannabe Rossies....

The only prominent one I know is a former Roscommon football star now a publican in Tottenham, N.London and a massive Man.U. fan to boot.

**DannyInvincible** · 16/04/2011, 2:45 AM

Sorry to have to go back on-topic here, but...

(And it's nothing to do with northern players either. *Awaits a collective sigh of relief.*)

I meant to enquire about this a while back when I first came across a guy playing for Portsmouth's academy called Chinedu Vine. I'd happened to do a player search on Football Manager 2011 for players of Irish nationality and this youngster of Nigerian birth showed up. Quite a handy resource, it is, although not completely infallible. There's no mention of the likes of Richard Stearman or Kyle Naughton being eligible even though it appears they are in real life.

Anyway, dragging myself away from Football Manager, I did a bit of research on the lad to get his story. Vine's parents moved to Ireland when he was a toddler. He went on to play for Home Farm at under-15 level before Portsmouth, who have a partnership with Home Farm, snapped him last year.

There's not much on him online really but there's a bit about the Portsmouth academy here where he features briefly in a few clips posing for club scholarship photos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJrz8inD6MM

He was eligible to play for Ireland according to the game but would he be eligible to play for us in real life given that his citizenship - he holds an Irish passport, according to reports - would have been dependent on residence, all his roots are Nigerian and he hasn't lived in Ireland for five years after reaching the age of 18 given that he only turned 17 last Thursday, as it would happen? I'm guessing he wouldn't be.