Niall Quinn has made the breakthrough as a professional soccer player at Arsenal but the Dubliner has a background in hurling and Gaelic football.
Tá peileadóir óg as Baile Átha Cliath, Niall Quinn, ag imirt leis na "Gunners" i staidiam Highbury.Many Irish footballers have crossed the water to play for Arsenal, notably Frank Stapleton, Liam Brady and Dave O’Leary. Young Niall Quinn from Perrystown has made the same journey.
Playing sport from an early age, he inherited his love of hurling and Gaelic football from his father Billy, who played midfielder for the Dublin and Tipperary senior teams.
According to his mother Mary, Niall Quinn kicked a ball as soon as he was able to,
Bhí dúil aige ins an bpeil ón gcliabhán.
Niall Quinn played both soccer, hurling and Gaelic football right through his teenage years, and was spotted by an Arsenal talent scout. While he had played Gaelic football in a tour of Australia, soccer eventually took first place for him. At the age of seventeen he headed to London to pursue a professional football career at Arsenal.
I only played when there was no Gaelic football or hurling match, but when I did play, I found I likes it, and was getting on well with it, it started from there really.
He feels very fortunate about what he has achieved thus far,
I’ve fulfilled my ambition to play for Arsenal. I have had some lovely days I’ve played at Wembley, I’ve won a Littlewoods Cup medal. I have played for my country. Hopefully I’ll play for my country in Germany this summer.
Theo Foley is assistant manager at Arsenal, and very positive about all the hard work that Quinn has put in,
He’s got great qualities...very effective in the air and he’s very very strong.
This episode of ‘Cúrsaí’ was broadcast on 18 March 1988. The reporter is Seán Ó Mealóid.
'Cúrsaí' was an Irish-language television magazine programme. It was first broadcast on 14 October 1986 with Neasa Ní Chinnéide and Seán Ó Tuairisg as presenters. It was originally billed as "iris-chlár le béim faoi leith ar chúrsaí reatha an lae agus ar chúrsaí na tíre i gcoitinne" (RTÉ Guide, 17 October 1986). But it covered a wide range of topics, including politics, current affairs, arts and entertainment. 'Cursaí' was broadcast four nights a week, from Tuesday to Friday, on RTÉ 2. It ended on 30 May 1995.
