Emerald Isle to End Zone, Quinn gets a kick out of Boston

By SHELAGH BRALEY STARR
RELATED ☘️ Staff

CHESTNUT HILL, BOSTON—He was the kicking king of Ireland. Now he’s better known as the Irish kicker of Boston College. 

Andy Quinn, 20, freshman kicker-punter for the Eagles, is a long way from his home in Creggs, Co. Galway. But he’s finding his way just fine—with the help of family, rooting him on and reminding him who came before. 

“When I came on my official visit, my mum said, ‘You cannot go anywhere else, Andy.’ After I sent home photos of me on the grounds (of BC campus), my grand aunt Eileen, who has been living in New Jersey since the fifties, phoned me to say that her mum, my great-grandmother Bridie, went to Mass at BC every day for the decade she lived here.” 

His great-grand-aunt Nora Cunningham was the first in Quinn’s family line to emigrate to Boston. She was 18 when she arrived, marrying James Muldoon from Donegal. Soon, others would follow, including Quinn’s great-grandmother, Bridget “Bridie” Cunningham of Rushestown, Newbridge, Co. Galway. Thirteen years younger than Nora, Bridie traveled aboard the Franconia out of Cobh with her sister Agnes Fitzmaurice. They lived in Dorchester and Brighton, and attended daily Mass at Boston College. 

When he found this out, Quinn said he felt a strong family connection. “It gave me a shiver of realization that there was a light guiding me for the past few years. I have the sensation of my spiritual family being with me when I walk the grounds of BC.” 

The past few years have been a wild ride for the freshman kicker, who took a shot at the Aer Lingus College Classic halftime competition to win the title “Kicking King of Ireland”—twice. He’s represented his country as a member of the Irish Wolfhounds. He’s been the first Irish person to play for the NFL Academy based in Loughborough, UK. And now he’s a Division 1 student athlete, wearing no. 25. 

Quinn said he discovered he was not the first Galway man to wear the number. Billy Donlan played quarterback in the 1950s. “His parents were from Abbeyglunin and Kiltullagh in Co. Galway. He wore the shirt with distinction …” Quinn said. “His story reminds me of the importance of staying connected to my heritage and carrying that sense of identity and purpose into everything I do. It’s now my time to wear No. 25 with distinction for BC. Every day I pull it on, I feel energized by the giants of generations past,” he said.  

Quinn’s family has been nothing but supportive. “My parents (Kathy and Niall) are delighted for me, to realize my dream to be a D1 student athlete in the USA,” Quinn said. But the transition has been hard on Quinn’s three younger brothers, John, Matthew, and Charlie, their mother, Kathy, admitted. “It’s been tough. Charlie (the youngest, 10) was 100 percent heartbroken for the first six weeks when Andy left.” 

Quinn has kept in touch since they returned to Ireland at the end of September. “Every time they get selected to play on a team, be it golf, rugby, football, or hurling, they ring me up to say, ‘Hey Andy, my coach wants me to play.’ ”  He’s just as proud of them as they are of him. “Only last week, my brother rang me to say he has been selected to represent Connacht in the Special Olympics in Dublin next June. He is practicing every day to realise his dream, just as I am practicing to realise mine.” 

Quinn said for his first game, he had more than 30 relatives in the stands cheering him on, as well as hundreds watching on TV at home in Ireland. Kathy Quinn paused on the hundreds, and laughed. In Creggs, she said, “—150 is being generous.” 

But the spirit is there: “When the season schedule was published, I was inundated with texts from people in Ireland saying they were coming to Boston to root for me,” Quinn said. “Since I played with the Irish national American football team, I have connections in every American football club in Ireland. I am constantly getting messages of support from all 32 counties,” he said. 

He said he loved it, he “was obsessed with kicking rugby” when he was younger, but that he “would’ve made the switch” to football naturally. 

His timing couldn’t be more strategic, as the National Football League’s expansion continues to harness new markets and grow the sport’s popularity outside the United States. The Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers made history in September, playing the first regular season game at Dublin’s Croke Park. While many U.S. fans made the trip, there were just as many fans from home, cheering them on. 

“The fact that there are so many fans, that (the NFL) is growing in Ireland, is all due to their efforts.” 

The 6’ 4” freshman has seen turf seven times for BC this year, including a successful 42-yard punt against Pitt, and he’s just getting started. He says he stays focused so he knows when he’s needed. “I try to block out anything that’s not on the field, and I just go out and seize every opportunity I can.” The season has been a challenge for the Eagles, but Quinn is not discouraged. 

“It has been magical, my life feels like a page-turner at the moment,” Quinn said. “I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next.” 

“Coming from Creggs in the west of Ireland, I had schoolboy dreams of playing hurling and football for the county or rugby for Ireland. When it came to American football, I thought only superstars like Tom Brady won Super Bowls. I feel it’s a privilege to dream big in America,” he said. 

The Cunningham sisters, after a decade in Boston, decided to return to Ireland, where they married and raised their families in Creggs and Clonyon Ballygar. But Quinn isn’t ready to forsake the Heights any time soon. “If I were home, I’d be in university, playing rugby, football, hurling, and helping out on the family farm. My dad says, ‘If you don’t like Boston, come home and take care of the farm.’ But I’m not ready to leave Boston any time soon.” 

He acknowledges he’s found himself on a special path, carved by those who came before him. He’s grateful to his family and to BC for all of it, and he plans to take advantage of every possibility ahead of him. 

My dad says, ‘The sky is the limit, Andy.’ But there is no guarantee,” he said. “I’m just a boy with a big boot who can kick the ball a long way.  But I’ve found over the years that if you’re going to dream, you might as well have a really big dream, as you’re just as likely to have a big dream come true.” 

“I like to imagine how my ancestors would perform if given the opportunity I have been given,” he said.   

The Boston College Eagles host the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time today. Fans based in Europe and Canada can stream the live broadcast on ESPN+ or Fubo. The game will be broadcast within the United States on ESPN.