"We met on the pitch on opposite sides, both determined to do the best for our teams. Just like in Heated Rivalry, we stayed distant except for an after-match drink with the teams and left separately to meet later. There was no look of surprise, no stand back, no blush. And so began a two and a half year intimate relationship, which was great."
"Then, after two and a half years of happiness, comfortable conversations, and intimacy, he disappeared from my life. I have not seen or heard from him in all that time, but guess what? I think about him every single day since. And I still love him, even though we never said it to each other."
A listener wrote to RTE Radio 1 host Brendan O'Connor sharing an emotional confession about a love affair he had in his 20s with a man from an opposing Gaelic football team. The two met on the pitch, began an intimate two-and-a-half-year relationship, and maintained secrecy by meeting discreetly after matches, similar to the hidden romance depicted in Heated Rivalry. After his partner suddenly disappeared from his life, the man has thought about him every day for 30 years and continues to love him, despite never explicitly expressing their feelings to each other. The letter reflects on the constraints of their era and the lasting impact of their connection.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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