On December 29th, Breaffy’s senior men’s and women’s teams took to the field in Ballyheane to play two challenge games against ISSC Vancouver. Over 40 Vancouver players and management travelled from all corners of Ireland and from Canada for the games to pay tribute to our great mutual friend and team-mate, David Gavin.
After leaving Ireland to travel and work in Canada, David transferred his football allegiances to the ISSC Vancouver club. Since David’s tragic accident, the ties between Breaffy and ISSC Vancouver have grown and the clubs now share a unique bond.
Both clubs are extremely grateful to the large crowds which came to Ballyheane to support such a worthy cause. Following two tight and competitive affairs, Breaffy emerged victorious in both women’s and men’s games.
All funds raised on the day were in aid of the RNLI. TG4 were also present to record a segment for their nightly news. Tributes were paid to David as Gaeilge by Donal and Riona Gallagher, James Minogue and ladies captain Aoife Connaughton. The report can be seen below or from the 4:30 mark on the TG4 player website.
The souvenir match program is available to download and includes the names of all participants on the day, as well tributes from Gerry Bourke, Vancouver’s Tadhg Egan, and the following words from David’s family:
In all disasters and tragic situations, there inevitably comes some good. Invariably, people are the catalyst – it is the human nature in us all. David was a real people person, he made friends easily and always saw the good in people. Through David’s tragedy, we have met some amazing human beings who are now close friends of ours. We have been humbled by the support & kindness of people, particularly from you, the GAA community. We do count ourselves fortunate that David enjoyed himself so much being part of both the Breaffy and Vancouver GAA scene, where you all made him so welcome. Thank you all so much for being here today. We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you are making, being away from your families & friends, particularly at this time of year. As you all know, David was passionate about Gaelic football and he will, no doubt, be with us today in spirit, smiling away, striding up that pitch and kicking every ball. We are looking forward to meeting you all and having an enjoyable day. We also remember today our Breaffy clubmate, Faye Lavin, who was also tragically taken from us in 2017, and whose birthday was just last week.
Mick, Angela, Aoife & Ciara
