A couple of weeks ago, a former Glentoran player, returned to the Oval as guest of the club, little did we know at the time but the ex-player in question, Billy Mc Vea, now aged 87, would be one of, if not the oldest surviving former player for Glentoran.
As a teenager, Billy started out on his footballing career at his local side Portavogie before his exploits brought him to the attention of Glentoran, who moved quickly to sign him in 1957 from under the noses of a few other senior clubs.
He spent his initial time at the Oval in the Olympic and Seconds sides and by the start of the 1958-59 season Billy was a regular in the Seconds side but starting to catch the eye of the Glentoran manager. Alongside Billy in that season was a player who would go on to have a very illustrious career in the Green, Red and Black, Trevor Thompson. Both lads played a large part in the Seconds winning the B Division title that season.
Such was their impact, that Glentoran manager, Tommy Briggs promoted both to the first team panel for the start of the 1959-60 season.
Billy with his son and granddaughters
That season would be a difficult one for Briggs and Glentoran as the team struggled for consistency in the league and in the other competitions. Young Billy had impressed though with some great displays at full back and managed to play 26 times during the season in all competitions. He scored twice during those games, ironically, both times were against Bangor.
Despite those performances, Glentoran Manager, Briggs was under a lot of pressure at the start of the following season and opted to release six players, sadly one of those would be Billy. His short Glentoran career was at an end and he moved on to sign for Ards, where he spent another two seasons playing 26 games and scoring 6 goals.
After Ards, Billy opted to drop down to the Intermediate league and side for Shorts, for whom he played for many years alongside a former Glentoran Olympic player and later better known in the Irish League from his time refereeing, Walter Clarke.
Bringing our story back to the present, Billy was met in the Glentoran Boardroom, by his former team mate and old friend. It was a lovely surprise for Billy, who was enjoying looking at the souvenirs and photographs with his son Colin and three granddaughters, who joined him on his return to the Oval. Walter and Billy enjoyed reminiscing about the old days and exchanged stories from their playing careers.
Billy called into the 1923 clubroom and was delighted to find a team photograph from 1958-59 with him in it.
Speaking to the Gazette, Billy’s son, Colin was full of praise for everyone at the Oval.
“Dad has had a wonderful day and the smile hasn’t left his face all day. His memory isn’t quite what it was but coming here today has really brought the memories back for him. I really can’t thank everyone at Glentoran enough for this lovely surprise for Dad and also made him, myself and my daughters so very welcome. It is very much appreciated by us all. Mum passed away in May and Dad's own health hasn’t been great but today has given him such a lift. He is a very happy man today.
“Please pass on our thanks to everyone at Glentoran , who made today happen. It has meant so much to us all , especially Dad. Things like today has meant so much to him , he has loved showing the girls where he used to play. It’s just been wonderful.”
Well done, Glentoran, it’s nice to be nice.