Former Mayo footballer David Brady has made hundreds of phone calls to elderly GAA fans during the COVID-19 lockdown over the past twelve months.
It all began back in April 2020 with a message on social media. “The son of a man down in Wicklow contacted me on Twitter and said ‘Is there any chance you’d give my dad a call, he’s cocooning down in Wicklow and he’s GAA mad.’ I pressed the button straight away and I called Tom Byrne down in Wicklow. You know what, I didn’t know what it was going to entail or what way the conversation was going to go but for me, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. The conversation I had with Tom, the foundation was based on GAA, would we ever see it back, would Mayo ever win an All Ireland but it transcended GAA, it was about life and life’s journeys. It was 35 or 40 minutes that I spent on the phone to Tom. I came off the phone and I was racking my head to see how I could help people during COVID and that was the spark for me that created hundreds of phone calls in twelve months. Each and every phone call I’ve made and every conversation I’ve created has been a two-way process. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done if I’m being honest.”
Brady has contacted supporters right across the country. “The oldest man I called was a man of 97 years of age, a Carlow man, a hurling man in a nursing home.”
He has made some unexpected friends along the way. “I’ll tell you one story about a man I called on a Friday night down in Kerry. Seamie more or less said to me ‘I’m here doing the crossword and the only company I’ve had all day is the pencil I have in my hand.’ Unbeknownst to me, he lost his partner that Tuesday. It knocked me for six. From that, Seamie and myself have corresponded. He sent me a book on Kerry football which I had to bloody read! It’s all about them winning! I sent Seamie down the programme of the All Ireland final, he has collected programmes of All Ireland finals down through the years. I'll have some amount of people to meet when the ball is thrown back in!”
Five-time Waterford All Star John Mullane has helped Brady with this initiative as well as Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin and Dublin hero Brian Mullins. “John has done calls and is willing to do more.”
Listen back to the full interview with David Brady from WLR’s weekly GAA show Lár Na Páirce.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cKJZiYdWRJbnkNLPfOqJY
