No special Oasis favours for Oisin’s GAA insists Ardara native Reece Furey Brogan 

Reece Furey Brogan has spent the last two years coaching with the Oisin’s GAA club in Manchester but it’s only this week that friends back home have suddenly taken an interest.

On Tuesday morning, legendary rock band Oasis announced that they are to reform with a string of concerts taking place across the UK and Ireland in summer 2025. 

With Croke Park pencilled in for August 16/17 dates, an old photo of Noel Gallagher lining out for the Oisin’s club on Jones Road has once again resurfaced. 

Both Noel and brother Liam played underage football for Oisin's in Manchester as kids and, in 1983, a 16-year-old Noel travelled over to Croke Park for an exhibition game against Kilmacud Crokes.

And with that little known fact coming to light once more this week, Brogan admits his phone started beeping from pretty early on on Tuesday morning as Noel and Liam officially confirmed their comeback. 

“I would have known about the Oasis link to the club,” Furey Brogan told DonegalLive.  

“But no one at home would have been too aware I’d say. I was at college in Liverpool and that’s how I got involved with them. 

“I trained the senior ladies and they won the senior league title last season and made the Northern Championship final.  

“Our own club’ Hall of Famer’ in Ardara, Frankie ‘Tom’ Gallagher, actually was one of the founding members of Oisin’s back in the early 50s having come over to Manchester in his late teens. 

“But everyone’s interest this week seems to be in relation to tickets. I know there are Manchester gigs as well as Dublin ones. They’ll probably sell out fast. 

“I might have to make some inquiries to Oisin’s chairman Adrian O’Sullivan about maybe picking up some for either!”

Furey Brogan also works for one of Oisin’s main sponsors, O’Connor Utilities, an Irish company originally from Kerry. 

“Maybe they are the ones to nudge in relation to tickets as Adrian is actually director there!  Seriously though, the publicity of Noel and Liam being former players is a great boost for the club this week. 

“We’re always looking to increase numbers for our senior mens and womans teams. I know they like to wear Manchester City jerseys on stage but if we get a couple of Oisin’s ones off to them they might see fit to wear them in Croke Park.”

Noel Gallagher has previously spoken about his appearance on Jones Road, saying:  "We came to Dublin to play an exhibition game in the early 80s against some Dublin team in Croke Park. We were hammered but I did score a point though."

The Gallagher brothers were born and brought up in Longsight, Manchester by parents Thomas Gallagher, originally from Duleek, Co Meath, and Peggy Sweeney, from Swinford, Co Mayo.

Tickets for Croke Park go on sale from Ticketmaster at 8am on Saturday 31 August.