Eamon McGee has revealed that he and Kevin Cassidy had to separated after a pub row broke out following his exit from the Donegal set-up in 2011 – and said the pair no longer speak.
McGee is writing a weekly column for The Irish Daily Star, and it has made for compelling reading over the last number of weeks.
In his latest offering, McGee reveals that it was difficult for himself and his brother Neil – when Cassidy was booted off the Donegal squad by Jim McGuinness for a contribution he made in a book by Declan Bogue.
McGee said that Cassidy was hurt that neither of his clubmen backed him up in the high-profile fall-out that ultimately cost Cassidy an All-Ireland medal in 2012.
McGee wrote, “When Bogue’s book came out, it was so hard for me to back Kevin up. I’d just got back into the squad. Was I going to jeopardise my own position?
“But I know Kevin was very hurt that myself and Neil – his club men – didn’t back him up.
“There was a time when things were very, very raw. We were in the local pub one night, the whole thing came up. There was a bit of aggro!
“We had to be separated, which was lucky for me, as I’d have had the head kicked off me.”
McGee said the pair were previously very close, and that when he was going through difficult times in his early 20’s – Cassidy tried to talk some sense to him.
He also revealed that the pair didn’t speak a single word to each other after walking out of the dressing room together last week.
McGee said, “When I was struggling in my early 20s, I was going from one messy situation to another. I wasn’t in a great spot.
“Kevin would call up to the house, say ‘Jump in the car’ and he’d try talk a bit of sense into me, and get me sorted.
“There’s a lot to Kevin. He had stature as an All Star and a top footballer, and could have had his pick of teaching jobs, I’d say. But he took a challenging one in a special needs school in Letterkenny.”
Cassidy criticised his club last week in an interview last week, citing that they didn’t have any pride in the jersey and let the parish down, but he seemed to be suggesting that players representing the county where not doing it at club level – which seemed a direct barb at the likes of McGee, his brother Neil and Odhran Mac Niallais.
He ended his column by stating he hopes that they can repair their relationship in the future.
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