KANYE West may have picked up a sports jacket from a west Belfast school while attending a music festival in Ireland.
At least that’s the latest theory circulating among former players from a 2008 winning Gaelic football team from St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar.
Last week, footage posted online and revealed by the Irish News showed the controversial US rapper wearing the jacket commemorating the MacLarnon Cup final, of which only 35 were ever made.
Former player Eamonn Herron (33), and still the proud owner of his own jacket, said he has been desperately trying to find out which of his former team mates gave their now famous garment away.
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“It’s sort of disbelief. You think it isn’t real when you recognise the jacket in the video. Because we know it was only made for a certain amount of people you start to think it’s made up,” he told the Irish News.
“Nobody has a clue how it happened. The people I’ve asked around still have their jackets.
“Some people are saying that he was at Electric Picnic a few weeks ago. Maybe one of the boys were down there and he saw the jacket and took a liking to it and swapped it.
“We just don’t know.”
In September, pictures of Kanye West emerged after he made a surprise visit to the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbelly, Co Laois.
Pictured hugging singer Steve Lacy, the rapper’s face is largely obscured by a hood draped over a black jacket.
Unfortunately for internet sleuths, it’s not clear if it is the item in question as the hood covers the area where the St Mary’s crest would be visible.
Why is Kanye west wearing a St Mary’s top pic.twitter.com/KNuGPM0WOO
— Ryan McLaughlin (@RyanMcL2) October 5, 2023
Eamonn said that his ongoing efforts to track down the remaining team members has become more difficult as many of them are now scattered around the world.
This supports the other leading theory that the jacket ended up in a charity shop in the United States.
“I definitely wouldn’t part with my own jacket. I know some of the boys have talked about putting theirs up online, but I’m not sure how much of a market there is for an old St Mary’s jacket,” he said.
Digging out old match programmes and photos from 2008, he said the unexpected attention had also reminded him of a special time.
“It’s just brilliant, a great bunch of lads and people,” he said.
“We actually won the double that year with the Mageean Hurling cup which I was the captain of.
“The whole thing has really brought up a lot of happy memories. For me, the jacket is one of those things you keep for the sentimental value.”
Last week, St Mary’s Principal Siobhan Kelly said there had been “great excitement” around the school after the footage of West appeared.
“One of the teachers suggested that many of our students went to Philadelphia that summer, maybe it was left over there or perhaps it has been donated to a charity shop,” she said.
“There has been a great buzz in the school all day about it, the boys just find it unbelievable to think he was wearing one of the school tops."
