Some of the best GAA news stories never involve a scoreline. Brendan Devenney has recalled the wonderfully unlikely plan that could have seen him and Mayo star Ciarán McDonald take to the All-Ireland championship wearing the same distinctive sports glasses made famous by Dutch football legend Edgar Davids.
The proposed Oakley campaign promised plenty of publicity, but it also presented two of Gaelic football’s most recognisable characters with a serious problem: how would teammates, supporters and opponents react to them turning out in wraparound goggles?
The GAA idea inspired by Edgar Davids
Davids became internationally famous for wearing protective glasses during his playing career. The former Ajax and Juventus midfielder had glaucoma, underwent eye surgery in 1999 and used protective eyewear on the pitch. The equipment soon became part of his unmistakable image.
According to Devenney, Oakley wanted to bring that look to Irish sport by selecting two colourful footballers from the GAA. Devenney and McDonald were given similar glasses and were asked to consider wearing them during the championship.
On paper, the pairing had obvious promotional appeal. Devenney was one of Donegal’s most entertaining forwards, while McDonald was a Mayo favourite whose long blonde hair would have made the look even more striking.
“You’d want to kick 10 points”
Devenney tested the glasses at Donegal training in Convoy. They included a strap at the back and were presented as protection from glare and bright sunlight. The practical explanation, however, did little to soften the reaction from his teammates.
The former Donegal forward remembered arriving at training in the unusual eyewear and immediately becoming the subject of intense dressing-room attention. His own assessment was that anyone wearing the glasses in a championship match would need an exceptional performance to avoid being ridiculed.
That was the central dilemma. The glasses might have offered protection, but they would also have made the wearer impossible to ignore. In the highly competitive world of county GAA, where players can face enormous pressure, Devenney believed the financial offer did not justify the potential backlash.
- Devenney and McDonald were supplied with Oakley glasses.
- The proposed campaign was linked to the Edgar Davids style.
- Devenney tried the glasses at Donegal training.
- Neither player ultimately wore them in an inter-county championship match.
McDonald may have carried off the style
While Devenney was unconvinced, he remains curious about how McDonald would have looked in the glasses. The Mayo forward’s blonde hair and established character made him the natural candidate to turn the unusual idea into a memorable piece of GAA theatre.
That visual contrast was likely the attraction for the brand. The campaign would not have been a conventional sponsorship activation. It would have connected a global football image with the personality and individuality that have always been part of Gaelic football culture.
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Why the championship appearance never happened
The proposal eventually came down to risk and reward. Devenney said the players were offered a relatively modest payment along with Oakley equipment. For an ordinary promotional appearance, that might have been enough. Wearing the glasses in a high-stakes championship match was a different matter entirely.
Devenney joked that he would have needed a much larger fee to take the chance. The concern was not only the reaction from teammates. A poor performance while wearing such conspicuous gear could have turned the player into an instant target for supporters and opponents.
Instead, the glasses found a more relaxed setting. Devenney wore them while DJing, where the bright lights made them useful and the atmosphere was far less unforgiving than an inter-county match.
The result is one of those Irish sports stories that survives precisely because it never happened. There was no championship photograph of Devenney or McDonald in Davids-style goggles, but the imagined scene remains far more entertaining than a standard advertising campaign.
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A missed piece of GAA fashion history
Gaelic football has never been short of distinctive personalities, but the proposed eyewear would have created an entirely new type of sporting image. Davids had already turned protective equipment into a signature look. Devenney and McDonald could have done something similar for the GAA, even if only for one championship afternoon.
Instead, the glasses remained a training-ground curiosity and a DJ accessory. The next time a supporter looks back at memorable GAA stories from that era, this one will sit firmly in the category of what might have been.
Article/Image Courtesy: Balls.ie
What happened to the Edgar Davids glasses plan?
Brendan Devenney and Ciarán McDonald received the glasses, but neither wore them during an All-Ireland championship match. Devenney tested his pair at Donegal training and later used them while DJing.
