Like father… like son

They say “lightning never strikes twice” but it has to a football crazy Inishowen family. Earlier this year, John McConnell, from Links View, Lisfannon outside Buncrana, travelled to watch his favourite team Arsenal play Roma in a Champions League clash in the Olympic Stadium and came away with the jersey worn during the match by Gunners defender William Gallas after the French international hurled his shirt into the crowd at the end of the game. Now, John’s nine-year-old son, Caolan, is following in father’s footsteps – and has got his hands on the jersey worn by Arsenal’s Brazilian midfielder in the Gunners’ 4-1 end-of-season victory over Stoke City City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday last. Arsenal fanatic Caolan had accompanied his father to the game and John explained how his football crazy son, a pupil at St. Mura’s National School in Tooban, Burnfoot, was able to bring the shirt home with him. He said: “It was the last game of the season at the Emirates and the players where doing their lap of honour. As they came to our section of the ground, Denilson had his shirt in his hands. Caolan, who was on my shoulders, was tugging at the shirt he was wearing indicating to Denilson to give him his jersey. At this point, Denilson called over a steward and gave the jersey to him. The steward made his way towards the fans and hesistated a moment before Denilson indicated to him to give it to Caolan. “It was unbelievable. Out of 60,000 people who had remained in the ground Caolan was one of the lucky ones to get a jersey. It is fantastic for him and something, I hope, he will treasure for the rest of his life.”