Holloway Gaels men’s Gaelic football team

A CHERISHED member of Islington’s Irish community, and the founder of the one of London’s first Gaelic football teams, has died aged 82.

Sean Larkin grew up in County Galway, Ireland, and moved to Tollington Park in the early 1970s to find work.

He spent his adult life working as a HGV driver, both in Galway and London.

Known by his friends and family as a helpful, committed, and thoughtful man, he dedicated his life to those he cared about and loved.

In the 1980s, seeing the challenges faced by young Irish men in his community, he co-founded the Holloway Gaels men’s Gaelic football team, who trained and played in parks across north London.

Mr Larkin and his wife Ann were the first secretaries of the club in 1989, and were dedicated to providing a community resource for Irish immigrants in London. He often said that when the team won a national championship in 1992, it was one of the proudest moments of his life.

Along with his wife, he advocated for the creation of the Holloway Gaels women’s team, one of the first of its kind. Although the men’s team has since disbanded, the women’s team are still going strong, recently winning the “All-Britain” final.

Ciara Holland, who is the current chair of the Holloway Gaels women’s team, said that Sean was “really supportive” in the early days of its founding.

She told the Tribune: “Gaelic football clubs in London are often described as a ‘home away from home’ for Irish people. Sean was a huge part of the men’s team and really supportive in getting the women’s team up and running. There’s slowly been a growth in the club over the time and we’re one of the most successful clubs in Britain now essentially.

Sean Larkin

“We’re really proud of the people who founded it, who always wanted to do the right thing, and Sean was a massive part of that.”

Mr Larkin’s friend Patrick Glynne, who he first met back in Galway in 1970, told the Tribune that Mr Larkin was “immensely proud” of his achievements with the Holloway Gaels.

“The club was great when he set it up, because it became something to keep young lads occupied, keep them out of trouble. Their parents really approved.

“He had a great influence over them all, and he gave them something to do.”

Mr Glynne immigrated to London two years after Mr Larkin and remem­bers bumping into him in a pub in north London, and the feeling of familiarity that seeing him brought.

They continued their friendship for over 50 years, regularly debating and discussing Gaelic football over a pint in the pub until their older years.

“I probably knew Sean longer than anybody. Back when we first moved over, we’d meet at the Park Tavern in Finsbury Park, Mr Glynne said. “He was a great man to argue with, he was so passionate about Irish sports like Gaelic football and hurling, and was very good at getting his point across.

“I remember Sean as an extremely helpful man, he would do anything he could to help you out if you needed it. He’d always go above and beyond for people. He once drove out to north Finchley in the middle of the night to help me fix my car after I got stranded there!

“When I got the call about his passing, I was heartbroken. I always say a good friend like Sean is as important as any relation.

Mr Glynne added that he was a sociable man who was well loved by those in his community and beyond. He said: “At his funeral last week, there was a flight full of people who came over from Ireland to pay their respects to Sean, as well as those who knew him locally. It just shows what high esteem people in the community held him in.”

He loved his homeland and would go back to Galway “as regularly as he could” to see family and old friends there.

In his later years, Mr Larkin and his wife Ann were regulars at a “lunch club” group, organised by the Irish Elderly Advice Network (IEAN).

The club meets on Thursdays each week, helping Irish and non-Irish people to combat loneliness, isolation and poverty in north London.

Nora Mulready, the CEO of the IEAN, told the Tribune that Mr Larkin was a “lovely, kind and gentle” man who was very dedicated to his wife and family.

He leaves behind his son John and wife Ann.