Croke Park officials today welcomed the oldest surviving direct descendant of the GAA founding fathers – Patrick McKay, the great grandson of John McKay.
John McKay, an athlete and a journalist with The Irish News and then The Cork Examiner, was the GAA's first secretary alongside Michael Cusack and John Wyse Power.
In a significant reconnection of its historic past, Patrick McKay arrived at Croke Park from the UK to retrace the steps of his renowned great-grandfather.
"I’m proud to be here," Patrick told RTE Sport. "I had no idea of the connection. I thought our family was of Scottish descent, but I am very proud to be here and to learn more about my great-grandfather."
Retracing the family trees of McKay, one of the seven who sat down at Hayes Hotel in Thurles on 1 November 1884 was not a simple process, but it was a task taken on by well-known GAA historian Donal McAnallen.
McKay, an Ulster native, was elected joint-secretary of the GAA, along with Cusack and Wyse Power and recorded the details of the first historic meeting of the association.
He retired from his role as joint secretary in 1886, and continued working in journalism and had stints in Belfast, Dublin and Cork again before passing away in London in 1923.
McAnallen says McKay’s death was reported in some Irish newspapers, but otherwise he became a largely forgotten figure in his native land.
"Long before 2009, when the GAA’s 125 Years Committee sought to ensure that each of the famed seven founders had a suitable memorial, memory of where McKay was born or buried had faded into oblivion," McAnallen told RTÉ’s The Championship radio show.
When it emerged that he was buried in an unmarked grave in Kensal Green, London, the GAA erected a gravestone for John McKay, his wife Nellie (1854-1949), his son Patrick Joseph (1887-1929), and grandson Patrick Joseph Jr (aged 10 days in 1917).
Last year the GAA held a fitting centenary event at McKay’s graveside on 2 December.
McAnallen attended that event in London and pledged to find out more of the story.
He came across a region with street names such as Clonmel Road, Rostrevor Road, Munster Avenue and Burnfoot Avenue before redirecting his search to place names and found a record of a Patrick McKay having run the London Marathon of 1982.
McAnallen located Patrick’s son Simon, emailed him the McKay family tree, and that same night had a two-and-a-half hour discussion with Patrick.
Patrick knew nothing about a paternal link to Ireland, let alone the GAA. But in his chat McAnallen did unearth one almost surreal gem.
"He knew his maternal line was Irish and had visited the country just once in 1957. He had one photograph of that visit – standing in front of the statue of St Patrick in Kilkenny, along with his younger brother Joseph, and both holding camáns," McAnallen added.
Little did the brothers know their great-grandfather had been hugely influential in the establishment of the GAA.
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