![]() ![]() Frank, it is fair to say, was very excited. Spring was standing beside Ricardo ‘Dickie’ McAllister. The Irish, having not qualified for the tournament, had one of their own passing the ball to Lionel Messi.įrom an early age, Noel knew about relatives in Argentina, but it was not until one morning in 1995, three years before Alexis’ birth, when his cousin Frank called him because of a story on the pages of the Irish Times where Dick Spring, the deputy head of the Irish Labour Party, was photographed at the famous Hurlingham hurling club in Buenos Aires. The City fan tells me it felt like the whole town descended on Keeling’s that night. ![]() Five generations later, Alexis Mac Allister won the World Cup in 2022 for his ancestors’ adopted country. Joseph McAllister was the first, in 1865. ![]() Some later moved on to England and Australia but three went to Argentina. The family originally came from Scotland. The earliest McAllister headstone at St Patrick’s Catholic Church dates back to the late 17th century. He sometimes drinks in Keeling’s, though usually the other side of the pub, in the lounge. Noel McAllister became the president of one of the local golf clubs. They were farmers who eventually sold parts of their land so that a new housing estate could be built. One family which most certainly is local is the McAllisters. “There are guys who’ve lived here for 60 years and they aren’t local…” He tells me that to truly be considered a man of Donabate, you need to have a headstone in the graveyard, just down the road. He is relatively new to the area, although he didn’t grow up too far away. That’s the way it “always has been” says the Manchester City fan whose name I should have taken, though with so many voices overlapping in this narrow galley it’s not easy to keep track of what is being said and to whom. The “Monday Club” is here for “therapy” for those who have missed out on a Friday or Saturday night because of family commitments. ![]()
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