Edenderry’s Golden Boy: A Fighting Words Story Seeds Adventure

Edenderry’s
Golden Boy
A Fighting Words
Story Seeds Adventure

Edenderry’s
Golden Boy
A Fighting Words
Story Seeds Adventure
Contents
Chapter One : The Beginning of James’s Career
By St. Mary’s Primary School, 6th Class 1
Chapter Two : The Dark Square
By Gaelscoil Eadan Doire, 5th & 6th Class 7
Chapter Three : The White-Eyed Creature
By St. Patrick’s Primary School, 6th Class 11
Chapter Four 4 : The Betrayal
By Monasteroris Primary School,
5th & 6th Class 15
Chapter Five : Dream Come True
By Scoil Bhríde Primary School, 6th Class 19

Chapter One:
The Beginning of
James’s Career
By St. Mary’s Primary School, 6 th Class
One morning, James woke up in his house in The
Sycamores and remembered the dream he had during
the night. He had a dream about winning the World
Cup. James had had various dreams about that and
wanted to tell his friend Leo about it.
James texted Leo that read, “I had another dream about
winning the World Cup.”
Leo left him unread because he was fed up hearing about
the dream. James was angry and threw his phone across
the room just as he was called down for breakfast. He
stomped down the stairs in an angry mood.
“Why are you so angry?” asked his mother.
“Leo wouldn’t answer my message,” James whined.
“Why is that?” she asked.
James told her about the dream he had.
“Cheer up,” said his mother, “You have a match this
evening.”
Later on, James was playing at Derry Rovers and
he scored in the first five minutes. Leo had come to
1

watch the match and when James scored the goal, Leo
celebrated by banging on the drums. James noticed Leo
in the stands and he waved at him even though he was
still mad at him for not replying to his text message
earlier that morning.
James also noticed a man with a clipboard standing on
the sidelines. He thought the man might be a scout so
he was trying very hard to do his best. In the second
half, James went on to score two more goals with the
third one being a bicycle kick in the last minute to win
the game 3-2.
After the match, the man James thought was a scout,
came over to him.
“Hello James, my name is Harold,” said the man. “Do
you know that you have been scouted by multiple Irish
clubs?”
“I was not aware of that,” replied James.
“I’ll give you my number,” said Harold, “And when
you’re ready to choose a club, you can contact me.” He
drove away in a BMW M4.
After the match, Leo went up to James and apologised
for not replying to his message.
“Who was that man with the clipboard?” asked Leo.
“He was a scout,” said James happily.
“Let’s go to Big Bites,” suggested Leo. “I will buy you
a kebab to celebrate and we can go to the square to talk
about it.”
2 3

As they were talking, Leo asked him what club he would
select.
“I haven’t really thought about it properly but I might
join Shamrock Rovers,” said James excitedly.
As he was about to call the scout, James’s phone died.
At the same time, a car suddenly hit an electricity pole
and crashed into Cartel, the barber shop. It was a BMW
M4.
As Leo tried to call the emergency services, they realised
all power was gone and the town was pitch black.
4 5

Chapter Two:
The Dark Square
By Gaelscoil Eadan Doire, 5 th & 6 th Class
James and Leo were in a panic when they witnessed the
crash. They rushed to the car and James saw that there
was no one in it. He looked for Leo and realised he was
gone.
The broken power lines were sparking all around him
and suddenly he realised there was no one else around
except for a little girl, who was climbing out of the boot
of the BMW.
“Are you OK?” asked James in a scared voice. “Where
are your parents?”
The girl was trembling and, as she walked over to James,
he recognised her face from a social media post saying
that she was missing and that her name was Leah. She
had last been seen at Derry Rovers soccer match earlier
that day, talking to a man with a clipboard.
James realised that the man with the clipboard was
Harold.
He asked her, “Is your name Leah? Where did you go
after the soccer match? How long have you been in the
boot?”
Leah told James that she had snuck away from her
parents and had gone to Breretons to buy sweets. On
6 7

her way back to the pitch, she had been hit on the head
by a clipboard and bundled into the boot of the car. Leah
told James that she woke up later, started screaming
and then heard a big bang.
As James was trying to take in all this information, he
saw Harold across the road.
“It’s him! He’s the one who hit me!” screamed Leah.
The Gardaí arrived on the scene and got the ESB to
get the lights back on. The Gardaí thought James had
caused all the carnage.
James said to them, “Check the CCTV.” When they did,
they saw a man jumping out of the car right before it
crashed and running away.
The Gardaí asked James if he knew the man.
“I saw him earlier at the soccer match and he told me he
was Harold and he was a soccer scout,” replied James.
The Gardaí replied, “Harold is not that man’s name.
He’s not a soccer scout. He’s an escaped prisoner.”
James realised how lucky he was that he hadn’t called
the so-called scout. The Gardaí called Leah’s parents
and told them she was safe.
Suddenly, Leo came around the corner looking very
shocked. “I’ve just heard that my uncle has escaped
from prison,” he said.
8 9

Chapter Three:
The White-Eyed
Creature
By St. Patrick’s Primary School, 6th Class
James woke up the next morning and saw a text from
Leo. The text said to watch the news about the escaped
prisoner. James turned on the TV and watched the news.
It said that the escaped prisoner had robbed five banks
before being put in prison. He had been involved in a
car accident in Edenderry and the Gardaí had found his
fingerprints on the steering wheel at the scene. His real
name was Christopher Mackson.
As the news finished, James walked down the stairs and
texted Leo to say he had seen the news. He remembered
that Leo’s last name was Mackson as well. Leo asked
James if he would like to go to Blundel Castle to meet
up. Leo’s uncle had told him that if he ever got caught,
the money he had stolen would be hidden in Blundel
Castle.
When they got to Blundel Castle they couldn’t find
anything at first. but when they searched further, they
fell through some soft grass into a secret bunker.
In the bunker, James and Leo found a voice recording
tape. When they played it they heard KSI’s new song
‘Thick of It.’ At the end of the tape, there was a weird
message. They didn’t know what it meant because it
sounded backwards. When they were rewinding it to
10 11

play it again, in the middle of the song they heard a
secret message.
The message said, “Hello Leo, tell your friend James
to choose Shamrock Rovers as his team.” When James
and Leo decided to leave the bunker, out of the corner
of his eye Leo saw a strange, white-eyed creature. They
thought nothing of it and left the bunker.
James and Leo made their way to the friendly match
that Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians were playing in
Derry Rovers. At half time in the match, James’s team
played against Shamrock Rovers u18s. James scored five
goals and it caught the attention of Shamrock Rovers’
manager.
Leo walked over to the manager and said, “My friend
James is really good at football. You should consider
him.”
The manager asked Leo, “Is he the player who scored
five goals?” The manager said he would look into it and
send a scout to his next match.
Four days later, James was playing against St. Pats. As
he scored a goal and levelled the match, half time was
called. As James walked to the dressing room, out of
the corner of his eye he saw Leo’s uncle Christopher
Mackson. He immediately phoned Leo - who didn’t
pick up.
All of a sudden, someone was at the window, gesturing
for James to come out and talk. James said to the
manager that he needed to go to the bathroom.
12 13

When James went outside it turned out it was Leo. In
a dark and scary voice, Leo said, “Can you follow me?”
As they rounded the corner, James and Leo saw the
white-eyed creature. James was frozen in terror and
when he turned to run, Leo had blocked his exit.
Chapter Four :
The Betrayal
By Monasteroris Primary School, 5th & 6th Class
“Leo, MOVE!!!” roared James, but Leo didn’t budge. Leo
just stared at James with white eyes. James stood there
in terror because they were the same eyes as the whiteeyed
creature. James tried to run but there was nowhere
to go.
James saw his team mates running back onto the pitch.
He barged past Leo and ran to tell his coach. The coach
didn’t believe him, laughed in his face and told James to
get back on the pitch.
James finished the game and convinced the coach to go
back with him and check. When they went back, there
was nothing there.
James was in disbelief and tried to explain what he saw.
The coach rolled his eyes and walked off.
James decided to ignore what had happened, but he felt
back stabbed by Leo and also confused. He decided to
brush off any thoughts of the white-eyed creature and
that his football career was more important.
Six weeks later, James woke up one morning and realised
it was the final day for trials for Shamrock Rovers. He
felt ready and nervous. He made his way to Edenderry
Town soccer pitch.
14 15

On his way to the changing room, James felt a tug on
his arm and before he knew it, he had blacked out. He
woke up and realised he was tied to a chair in a place
that was a bit familiar. It was Christopher Mackson’s
bunker under Blundell Castle. As he began to wake up,
he saw Leo standing in front of him.
“Finally…there you are!” said James, relieved. “Quickly,
untie me from this chair before your uncle comes back.”
“Why should I do that?” Leo replied in a smug tone.
“You really thought I was your friend? I’m only in this
for the money.”
James was confused. “What money?”
Now James was terrified. “Wh- wh- wh- what do you
plan on doing with me?”
Just then, there was a loud knocking on the bunker
entrance…
16 17

Chapter Five :
Dream Come True
By Scoil Bhríde Primary School, 6th Class
The knocking on the door was Jonathan MacNachula,
who was the Shamrock Rovers scout. He had been
chasing down James after the match to try and get him
to sign a contract.
Leo hid in the corner and Jonathan freed James from
the ropes. They then proceeded to leave and went to
Forge Café in the square to talk about the contract.
They talked about it for a while and James decided to
sign the contract. He checked his phone and saw a
message from Leo’s uncle saying, “This isn’t over.”
Over the next three weeks, James played with Shamrock
Rovers for four matches and scored a lot of goals, scoring
a hat trick against the All-Ireland champions Corduff.
He also got selected for trials for Ireland’s under 18s.
James felt his career was starting to take off. After two
weeks, he got injured. It was a very painful injury, which
made James feel frustrated. He kept on training as best
he could to try to recover. He got physio in Edenderry
Rugby Club because the best physio around was there.
One day when he got back from physio, he got a message
from Leo that said, “It was my uncle that had made me get
involved in your kidnap and I’m sorry. I hope we can still be
friends.”
18 19

James didn’t believe Leo and felt angry and he just
wanted to focus on his dream of making it to the World
Cup at this point. James recovered from his injury and
kept his head high. He forgot about all of the trouble
with Leo and his uncle and remembered the World Cup
qualifiers were in two weeks’ time.
The next day, James woke up to a text from his Shamrock
Rovers’ manager saying that he had been selected for
the national team in the World Cup qualifiers.
When he walked into Brady’s Spar, James saw his own
face on the front of the Offaly Topic, celebrating his
achievement and he felt very proud of himself for all of
the work he had done over the years.
As James walked down JKL Street, people were greeting
him and congratulating him. He got called in by Eden
FM Community Radio to do an interview on air.
All of the young players in Edenderry were inspired by
the interview.
In the first match of the qualifiers, against Argentina
James got an assist but only played ten minutes. After
the match, the manager told him not to worry, he
would be getting more game time.
Ireland qualified for the World Cup and James was
ecstatic along with the rest of the team.
The following year, the World Cup 2026 began in the
US. Three games in, James had scored five goals and
was the top scorer for Ireland. Ireland progressed
to the final and on the day of the match, James was
20 21

walking to his car. Christopher Mackson appeared in
front of him and frightened James, who tripped over
and hurt his ankle.
James fought through the pain and scored the winning
goal in the final. His greatest wish had come true.
THE END
22 23

Authors
Chapter One: The Beginning of James’s Career
St. Mary’s Primary School, St. Mary’s Road, Edenderry
6th Class, Teacher: Paul Carey
Aoife Lawlor
Arsen Hurin
Aya Hamdaoui
Brayan Braganca
Brooke Brophy
Ceyda Ozbek
Daniel O’Reilly
Emily Carey
Isabella Maughan
Karmel Bizimungu
Katalina Plop
Layla Murphy
Leah Sharpe
Mantvydas Urbietis
Marius Proca
Robert Mihai Alecu
Tajus Prodziunas
Vladimir Samson
Xuyao Lin
Voumna Elgendy
Chapter Two: The Dark Square
Gaelscoil Eadan Doire, Killane, Edenderry
5th & 6th Class, Teacher: Conor De Faoite
Connor Ó Ramsaigh
Jamie Mac an
tSionnaigh
Gobnait Ní Chártaigh
Ruarí O Dúghaill
Dan Ó Comáin
Jack Furlong
Seoidín Nic Sheoin
Róisín Ní Mhaothagáin
Siofra Ní Chiéirigh
Tadgh Jessop
Audrey Ní Éimhin
Dale Ó Crionagáin
Féile Ní Chearúill
Daryl Ó Piogóid
Senan Ó Spealáin
Niamh Ní
Dhoinneacháin
Eleanor Ní Phearail
Rhona Ní Bhroin
Summer Ní Cheailaigh
Aoife Ní Phluincéad
Dónal Mac Seoin
Sophie Ní hÓgáin
Christopher Mac
an Bhair
Tadhg Ó Dufaigh
Ava Ní Chanáin
Ní Mhaonaigh
Marc Atkinson
Conor Behan
Elissa Carter
Claire Hodgins
Stephanie Potterton
Chapter Four: The Betrayal
Monasteroris Primary School, Edenderry
5th & 6th Class, Teacher: Kate Wallace
Alannah Roberts
Conor Balfe
Blake Edwards
Lara Kidd
Mayia Murray
O’Connor
Annarosa Pisaneschi
Isabella Roberts
Matthew Stanley
Chapter Five: Dream Come True
Scoil Bhríde Primary School, Killane, Edenderry
6th Class, Teacher: Aidan Brereton
Kalvin Adio
Marcel Czeslaw
Amernik
Isobel Cullen
Aoife Cummins
Mason Cummins
Una Denehan
Ollie Feeney
Peter Forde
Kayleigh Glenn Fox
Jatin Kumar
Kayleigh Leonard
Alex Loughlin
JP Mangan
Mattie Matoszko
Rian McDonnell
Isla McGlade
Kyle Mullen
Brooke Nolan
Brógan O’Brien
Michael O’Brien
Lacey O’Donoghue
Lana Redmond
Julia Sari
Mia Usher
Alex Wogan
Chapter Three: The White-Eyed Creature
St. Patrick’s Primary School, Gilroy Avenue, Edenderry
6th Class, Teacher: Denis Murphy
Justin Brennan
Jake Fahey Crombie
Conall Eccles
Tyler Judge
Vincent Kurauskas
Monika Kurauske
Liam Larkin
Jade Loughrey
Cormac Mooney
Klaudia Mielewczyk
Nithin Rajesh
Luca Romano
Mohamed El Sakka
Aoife Sexton
Jason Ssango
Franck Szczerbinski
Lorena Tanase
Cian Mooney
24 25

Acknowledgements
Edenderry’s Golden Boy: A Fighting Words Story Seeds Adventure
would not have been possible without:
• All the young writers who contributed to each chapter in a story
that celebrates the community where we all live.
• The schools’ commitment to participating in the project, with
special thanks to all the principals and administrative staff.
• All the class teachers for facilitating the workshops with our
teams in the classroom.
• The volunteer writing mentors and illustrators who are at the
heart of everything that Fighting Words does.
• The financial support of Offaly County Council (Edenderry
Municipal District).
Workshop Team:
• Anne Kilrane, Facilitator
• Hilda O’Sullivan, Typist
Illustrated By:
• Anne Morris, Artist
Project Coordinator:
• Anne Kilrane
26 27

28