Croke Park welcomes family of GAA co-founder John McKay

Croke Park officials today welcomed the oldest surviving direct descendant of the GAA founding fathers – Patrick McKay, the great grandson of John McKay.

John McKay, an athlete and a journalist with The Irish News and then The Cork Examiner, was the GAA's first secretary alongside Michael Cusack and John Wyse Power.

In a significant reconnection of its historic past, Patrick McKay arrived at Croke Park from the UK to retrace the steps of his renowned great-grandfather.

"I’m proud to be here," Patrick told RTE Sport. "I had no idea of the connection. I thought our family was of Scottish descent, but I am very proud to be here and to learn more about my great-grandfather."

Retracing the family trees of McKay, one of the seven who sat down at Hayes Hotel in Thurles on 1 November 1884 was not a simple process, but it was a task taken on by well-known GAA historian Donal McAnallen.

McKay, an Ulster native, was elected joint-secretary of the GAA, along with Cusack and Wyse Power and recorded the details of the first historic meeting of the association.

He retired from his role as joint secretary in 1886, and continued working in journalism and had stints in Belfast, Dublin and Cork again before passing away in London in 1923.

McAnallen says McKay’s death was reported in some Irish newspapers, but otherwise he became a largely forgotten figure in his native land.

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"Long before 2009, when the GAA’s 125 Years Committee sought to ensure that each of the famed seven founders had a suitable