Sawyer the latest in a growing line of Offaly football connections with Castleknock
THE name of Eoin Sawyer drew plenty of questions when he was selected at number 15 on the Offaly team that made an encouraging winning start against Sligo in the National Football League on Sunday last.
While he was on the Offaly U-20 football panel a few years ago, he didn't feature much – he was on the extended panel that won the All-Ireland U20 Football Championship in 2021 but didn't make the match day squad at any stage.
A dual senior football and hurler with Castleknock, Sawyer has missed some action in recent years after going to America during the summer but has been given his chance on the Offaly senior football panel by joint managers Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte this year – Kelly, of course, was the Offaly U-20 football manager in 2021, and would be very aware of Sawyer's ability.
His selection on Sunday's team still came as a surprise, mainly because he is such an unknown quantity to the wider Offaly footballing public. Sawyer worked very hard in Sunday's 1-17 to 0-13 win over Sligo and was clearly hungry to impress. He looked a bit anxious at times and will have to improve on Sunday's display but management have obviously seen potential in him and he will get further chances.
Sawyer's Offaly's connections are in Clara. His father Alfie is a native of Clara, on the Tubber side. The Sawyer family owned the now defunct Dolphin Pub in Clara at one stage and Alfie went to Dublin at a young age.
There are powerful Offaly connections with Castleknock club in Dublin. Former Offaly footballer Paul Mulevhill played with them in the 2000s and on. The Killeigh man was joint captain with Ballinagar native Cathal Daly when they began their climb of the ranks when winning the Junior Football Championship in 2012.
They have since gone senior and their most famous player, Dublin hero Ciaran Kilkenny has strong Offaly connections - his mother Mary, nee Corcoran, grew up for her first few years in St Cormac's Park, Kilcormac and then lived in Screggan, going to secondary school in Tullamore, before her father Jarlath got promotion with Bord na Mona and they moved to Portlaoise, with Mary eventually moving to Dublin where she married John Kilkenny.
Another Offaly connection with Castleknock is another Ballinagar man, Donal Cunningham, who has served on committee for years, also playing with them for a spell, and he brought Eoin Sawyer to Offaly's attention initially back around the 2020 mark.