England soccer star has family roots in Omagh

WHEN the England women’s football team take to the field for the World Cup Final against Spain on Sunday a few of the locals from Omagh will be looking on with particular interest.

That’s because Chloe Kelly, so often England’s match-winner, has family connections to the town.

England defeated Australia 3-1 to reach Sunday’s decider but in the last-16 clash against Nigeria it was Kelly who smashed home the winning spot-kick in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Last summer Kelly was also the match-winner in England’s thrilling victory over Germany in the Euro 2022 final.

On that occasion the substitute came racing off the bench to grab a sensational extra-time winner to defeat the Germans 2-1 at a sold out Wembley Stadium.

That was a first ever major tournament triumph for the Lionesses, who once again have captured the imagination of a nation by reaching the final Down Under.

The England supersub’s roots can be traced all the way back to Gortrush Park in the the town.

Brothers Liam and Sean Nugent who still live in Omagh, are first cousins of the England star’s grandfather Brendan Kelly, now deceased. Liam said the Kelly family upped sticks and all moved to England for work reasons.

“Chloe’s grandfather Brendan, his brother Jackie and his father Henry ‘Hooky’ Kelly all worked in the former Nestle factory on the Derry Road,” said Liam, following last summer’s Euro triumph.

“They were all born in Gortush Park. Henry got a promotion in Nestle and they all moved to England.

“Over the years I would have had contact with the grandfather but I have never met Chloe or her father Noel.

“Brendan’s younger brother Jackie is still alive and he keeps me updated on Chloe’s progress. She’s a great wee footballer,” added Liam, who lives at Clontarf Heights.

Chloe’s great grandfather Henry ‘Hooky’ Kelly, named such because he was a keen fisherman, was also a gifted footballer.

Back in the late 1930s he played in a famous summer competition showpiece final in the old showgrounds, now the site of the Showgrounds Retail Park which houses M&S, Argos and other leading shops. Henry played for the up and coming Sunnyside which were defeated by the Old Crocks in front of a bumper crowd.

Interestingly, Kenny Shiels, the former manager of the Northern Ireland women’s team, who qualified for the Euros for the first time last year, attempted to get Kelly to switch allegiance a few years ago on the grounds of her Omagh grand parentage.