The long road to Celtic
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
It’s unlikely those from the North-West would’ve known the family background of Celtic’s reserve goalkeeper as he took the field for their friendly against Finn Harps in Ballybofey last Sunday week, but there’s an interesting story to be told.
Eighteen-year-old Nick Feely, who was born in Hong Kong and whose family now live in the Western Australian city of Perth, is a grandson of former Leitrim inter-county Gaelic footballer Peter Feely. Peter, from Gubbacreeny just outside of Kinlough, passed away in 1976 having emigrated to London in his mid-twenties in 1935. Peter’s brother James also wore the green and gold of Leitrim’s footballers.
As Peter was one of nine siblings, of which only two remained at home, there are scant family connections remaining in north Leitrim, although Nick does still have cousins in the Omagh area and his great aunt married into the Gillespie family.
Nick’s father, also Peter, and their family moved to Australia from Hong Kong so their three boys could be educated and Nick attended Scotch College in Perth, where he was a very prominent rugby player and rower, stroking for the college’s First VIII.
As well as that, Nick played football outside of his school hours for Subiaco Juniors as an outfield player and when 14, to everyone’s surprise according to his father, opted to take up position in goal. Nick started playing senior football at 15 and was called into a State League club Cockburn City.
“He was recommended to Celtic by a supporter and was then invited to go to Glasgow if he was in United Kingdom, which he did when he was 15,” Nick’s father Peter told The Donegal Democrat from Australia this week.
“Celtic asked him to come over again which he did in 2009 and he trained well but had to go back to Australia to finish his education. Nick was again invited to Scotland at the beginning of this season for training and was offered a contract. Part of his contract entails that he is allowed to attend Glasgow University where he is on a degree course in Sport and Health Science.
“Nick has achieved a few national honours so far. He was called into the Australian U-19 squad for the Asian Championships as a 17-year-old and was on the bench for five matches. Obviously, he would like to get international honours but at the minute his priority is to move up the ladder at Celtic.”
Nick was introduced as a 67th minute substitute for Celtic in the game against Finn Harps, which the Scottish Premier League side won by four goals to one.
The game was part of John Kennedy’s Testimonial. Kennedy is a former Celtic defender whose career was cut short after a succession of knee injuries, the first of which was picked up against Romania at Hampden Park in Glasgow at the age of just 21 whilst making his first international appearance for Scotland.
Article originally appeared in the Donegal Democrat newspaper
Eighteen-year-old Nick Feely, who was born in Hong Kong and whose family now live in the Western Australian city of Perth, is a grandson of former Leitrim inter-county Gaelic footballer Peter Feely. Peter, from Gubbacreeny just outside of Kinlough, passed away in 1976 having emigrated to London in his mid-twenties in 1935. Peter’s brother James also wore the green and gold of Leitrim’s footballers.
As Peter was one of nine siblings, of which only two remained at home, there are scant family connections remaining in north Leitrim, although Nick does still have cousins in the Omagh area and his great aunt married into the Gillespie family.
Nick’s father, also Peter, and their family moved to Australia from Hong Kong so their three boys could be educated and Nick attended Scotch College in Perth, where he was a very prominent rugby player and rower, stroking for the college’s First VIII.
As well as that, Nick played football outside of his school hours for Subiaco Juniors as an outfield player and when 14, to everyone’s surprise according to his father, opted to take up position in goal. Nick started playing senior football at 15 and was called into a State League club Cockburn City.
“He was recommended to Celtic by a supporter and was then invited to go to Glasgow if he was in United Kingdom, which he did when he was 15,” Nick’s father Peter told The Donegal Democrat from Australia this week.
“Celtic asked him to come over again which he did in 2009 and he trained well but had to go back to Australia to finish his education. Nick was again invited to Scotland at the beginning of this season for training and was offered a contract. Part of his contract entails that he is allowed to attend Glasgow University where he is on a degree course in Sport and Health Science.
“Nick has achieved a few national honours so far. He was called into the Australian U-19 squad for the Asian Championships as a 17-year-old and was on the bench for five matches. Obviously, he would like to get international honours but at the minute his priority is to move up the ladder at Celtic.”
Nick was introduced as a 67th minute substitute for Celtic in the game against Finn Harps, which the Scottish Premier League side won by four goals to one.
The game was part of John Kennedy’s Testimonial. Kennedy is a former Celtic defender whose career was cut short after a succession of knee injuries, the first of which was picked up against Romania at Hampden Park in Glasgow at the age of just 21 whilst making his first international appearance for Scotland.
Article originally appeared in the Donegal Democrat newspaper
