Seán Victor "John" McAndrew (8 July 1927 – 3 January 2013) was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er. Born in the

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

town of Bangor Erris, he was one of the longest surviving Mayo Gaelic footballers to hold All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winners' medals. He was part of the 1950 and 1951 team, captained by

Seán Flanagan Seán Flanagan (26 January 1922 – 5 February 1993) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer. He served as Minister for Health from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Lands from 1969 to 1973 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minist ...

, that won titles back-to-back those years at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

, Dublin.

Biography

In the mid-1950s, McAndrew studied and graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. After emigrating to England in 1961, McAndrew led John Mitchel's Gaelic football team in Birmingham to several Warwickshire Senior Championships. McAndrew's first medical practice in England was in the rural Shropshire town of Madeley (close to Ironbridge), where he joined the practice of Dr. McGabhann. McAndrew became involved in the local community and attended St. Mary's Catholic Church in Madeley, Shropshire. After a short period there, he saw an opportunity to take over a practice in the

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

town of

Old Hill Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger ...

, near Cradley Heath. It was here, and for over 40 years, that McAndrew ran a his own practice. Taking up the hobby of

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

, both at NGRC and independent tracks, McAndrew gained a reputation for his astuteness in selecting young dogs from Ireland. Amongst the accolades he collected were the Birmingham Cup, ran at the old Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium, and the Welsh and Bolton St Legers. McAndrew married Bridget Catherine Corr on 11 April 1971 and had a son in December 1973. His wife died on 23 May 2006.

Gaelic football achievements

Ireland * Winner of two Senior All Ireland Gaelic Football medals with Mayo in 1950 and 1951 * Winner of one Junior All Ireland Gaelic Football medal with Mayo in 1957 * Captain of Mayo Senior team beaten by Dublin in the All Ireland Gaelic Football semi final in 1955 * Winner of four County Championship medals with Crossmolina, Castlebar, and Ballina in County Mayo * Winner of one County Championship medal with The Westerners, Dublin * Winner of five Senior Connaught Championships medals with Mayo * Winner of two National Football League medals with Mayo England * Winner of seven Warwickshire Football Championships with John Mitchels GAA club in Birmingham * Winner of four Birmingham City Council Park Trophy competitions with John Mitchels GAA club * Winner of seven Fr Forde cups, and eight Senior Football League competitions with John Mitchels GAA club * Dr John McAndrew was chosen as full-back on the Warwickshire team of the 20th Century * Ex Chairman of the Warwickshire County Board * Ex Chairman of John Mitchels GAA club * Ex Captain of John Mitchels GAA club * Life President of John Mitchels GAA club * Honorary Vice-President of the Gaelic Athletic Association Provincial Council for Britain

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAndrew, John 1927 births 2013 deaths Gaelic football backs Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers 20th-century Irish medical doctors