Pat Spillane Jnr grew up in a household where his dad had collected eight All-Ireland medals during the Kerry golden years of the 70s and 80s, so whenever the Sligo player is looking someone to bounce ideas off, he doesn’t have to look too far.
His mum hails from a different part of the country and her ties with Sligo allow Spillane to fulfil his dream of playing inter-county football and he’s lined out in the black and white rather than the green and gold for the past three years.
Living in Dublin, Spillane plays his club football with St Jude’s in the capital but has become a vital member of Tony McEntee’s Sligo team over the last number of years that has saw them earn some silverware in the form of the Division Four league title last season.
No matter the age profile, everyone knows the name Pat Spillane. It’s etched in footballing history for the rest of time. People of a certain vintage will recall the all-action wing forward racing up and down the field for Kerry.
But in more recent times, the nation was used to seeing Pat Spillane Snr, a nine-time All-Star winner, in the RTE studio, detailing his often-strong opinions on the state of the game. Love him or hate, you had to respect him.
9 April 2024; Pat Spillane of Sligo, pictured today for AIB ahead of the launch of the 2024 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships at the D-Light Studios in Dublin. AIB marking it’s ninth year sponsoring the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships, will once again celebrate #TheToughest players in Gaelic Games - highlighting the grit, determination and passion that is required to win this year’s Championship. For exclusive content and behind the scenes action from the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships follow @AIB_GAA on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AIBGAA. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
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And he’s been a massive help to his son’s growth as a footballer. Even to this day, Spillane Jnr will phone up his dad or message across individual clips for him to digest and await the feedback, no matter how scathing it might be.
“He’s a tough critic and he doesn’t go easy on me either to be fair,” laughed Spillane Jnr, speaking at the launch of the 2024 AIB GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships.
“He’s brilliant and a brilliant asset to have, in fairness to him. He’s a big help and I’d always bang clips over to him or whatever and look for his advice. I’ve been lucky in some sense to have an analyst at home.
“I’d ring home most days after every game, I’d always dissect my performances with him. If I don’t go to him, he’ll come to me so it’s good to have.”
Pat Spillane Jr's injury concern
Spillane lined out in the early rounds of the National League for Sligo as the Yeats men attempted to secure their status in Division Three, which they did convincingly, finishing fourth in the table.
But Spillane missed out on a large chunk of the action with an injury keeping him sidelined for the final three fixtures against Down, Offaly and Westmeath along with the opening round of the championship against Leitrim last weekend.
The injury means he’ll also miss their Connacht semi-final clash with Galway, in a repeat of last year’s provincial final, but is targeting the round robin series of either the All-Ireland or the Tailteann Cup (depending on results) as a realistic return.
“I’m looking at another couple of weeks out now but I’m near the end of the rehab process, thank God,” said the 25-year-old, who kicked 0-1 in his most recent performance for his county in their round four league win over Antrim.
“It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks. I was delighted to see the lads get the result the last day, it was a strong performance but I’m not too far way now so I’m buzzing to get back.”
2 September 2018; RTÉ Sunday Game presenter Michael Lyster, right, with panalists, from left, Colm O'Rourke, Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane ahead of Lyster's final Sunday Game broadcast prior to the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Spillane has joined up with the Connacht men at an exciting time. The u20s have won the last two provincial titles and reached the All-Ireland final last season, but unfortunately lost out to Kildare in the decider.
Still, there is certainly something brewing in Sligo and Spillane is delighted to be a part of it.
“There’s a lot of positivity there, particularly around the underage as well, a lot of the young lads are stepping up to senior level.
“There’s been brilliant development there in the last couple of years and you’d be optimistic about the future. All the young lads that have come into the panel have just integrated seamlessly; they’ve been brilliant additions.
“Everyone that has come in has had an impact and there’s going to be more fellas coming in next year again which is brilliant, so it’s going in the right direction. They’re a lovely group, we play a nice brand of football, great setup, so it’s been really enjoyable.
“I suppose I have been fortunate in a sense as well with my timing of joining Sligo. I’ve come at a time when a lot of good things are happening, a lot of things are falling into place, a lot of the lads are the same age as me, so the timing has been good.”
Pat Spillane of Sligo was speaking today for AIB ahead of the launch of the 2024 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships.
