?My uncle Kevin O'Neill was a legend. Back in the early nineties, he'd regularly organise school trips to Old Trafford for the pupils at St. Paul's secondary school in Lurgan, where he taught geography. As a young, fanatical Manchester United fan, I had the privilege of tagging along on a couple of occasions as his plus one. Manchester United and Liverpool, the 3rd of February 1991. Bruce Grobbelaar, John Barnes, Ronnie Whelan, and Ian Rush were the household names in the enemy camp. Denis Irwin, Bryan Robson, Brian McClair and Mark Hughes the star attractions for us. The atmosphere inside Old Trafford was electric. This was a mesmerising experience for a youngster to be at one of the biggest derbies in world football. Big Steve Bruce opens the scoring with a penalty. David Speedie, on his Liverpool debut equalises with a volley just before half-time. The game finishes 1-1 but the score doesn't matter. It's all about the experiences. Travelling on the boat; the bus journey from Holyhead down through England; Blackpool tower; Goodison Park on the Saturday; Old Trafford on Sunday; getting Lee Sharpe's autograph. Memories for life and all because of my Uncle. You'd probably expect any doting nephew with the same name to speak so glowingly about a passing relative who had just died recently; but you don't need to take my word for it. Mention his name or the moniker 'Grasshopper' to any ex-pupil who went through the secondary schools system in Lurgan over a 30 year period, and they'll probably tell you. Kevin was a tall man; dark hair, quite handsome (by his own admission) and he protruded this smashing black moustache for most of his adult life. He was a very funny fella who could have you in stitches without even speaking. He had this fairly prominent turn in one eye which he could exaggerate for value. Next he would add a funny face and a stupid walk. Picture Basil Fawlty, whom he often impersonated, and you've got him in one. I always assumed my big uncle Kev was popular because he was so funny, witty, personable, a great musician, a bit eccentric and just a throughly likeable, genuine, human being. But when he lost his battle with Covid back in November, the dozens and dozens of Facebook tributes from his ex-pupils that bombarded his timeline made me realise the significant difference he had made to so many young lives. Some of these 'kids' had left school almost 30 years. One former pupil told of how one day Kevin discreetly took him aside and asked if was he being bullied. The first teacher to spot something was wrong, this man spoke of how he made him feel safe and how many many years after leaving school, he was still a great mentor to him when they met in the local pub to discuss the circle of life. The anecdotes flowed from others of how a nurturing in school had morphed into these lifelong connections. Mentoring that continued when he met them in the street, in the Courthouse bar, or maybe just a private message to their Facebook accounts. Here's a transcript of a few of those messages:
"God bless you Kevin. You made me and other young boys feel like men in the classroom and giants on the football pitch....Your speech at the top of the class about good self esteem has stayed with me for twenty years.....One of the few that actually cared about your students. We were the luckiest class in the school. It says a lot when your pupils actually wanted to hang out with you over lunch break. Your basil fawlty antics were what made us want to go to school and will go down in history. A friend for life."
Kevin, at 69 years young, was only on the third leg in his journey of life and in good health before he lost his battle with Covid.
His loss was heavily felt in the town of Lurgan but that pain compares little to that of a wife, a son, a daughter, a son-in-law and two beautiful grand daughters who totally adored him. When I was asked to pen today's column I pondered doing a piece on the forthcoming national leagues and how teams may fare in this new regional condensed format. I had thought about covering the changing of the guard in Tyrone or perhaps some opinion on the impact Mickey and The Horse are likely to have in turning Louth's fortunes around. It's not usually my style to pen a piece that doesn't include some nitty gritty football analysis. But all that can wait for another day. For the next few weeks there really is more to life, while we weather through this storm. As GAA folk, both young and old, we all have our part to play to protect the most vulnerable and make sure our hospitals and NHS staff can cope - whatever coping is. County football will be flying in March. Club football won't be far off a starting date similar to any other year. But for now, we all need to think about how our actions today could affect the lives of others tomorrow. That's the way my uncle Kevin lived his life. He always put the needs and aspirations of others first. He invested in the futures of those more vulnerable. He played his part. And you know by now what he was. A legend.