Troy Parrott’s arrival has delighted both Seville’s Irish community and fans of his new club Real Betis.
16:05, 04 Sep 2026
Dubliner and Real Betis fan Brendan Martin, owner of The Merchant, an Irish bar in Seville(Image: Mark McCadden)
Troy Parrott’s arrival at Real Betis has filled Seville’s Irish population with “a sense of enormous pride.”
That’s according to Dubliner Brendan Martin, who moved to the Andalucian capital in 1998 after spending a year earlier in the 1990s here on Erasmus.
Martin (55), from Raheny, has been a season ticket holder at Betis for the past 28 years, and his pub, The Merchant, is the city’s only remaining Irish bar.
He also helped set up the city’s Gaelic football team – which once played an exhibition match at half-time during a Sevilla game – and continues to sponsor it.
So he sees plenty of his compatriots on a daily basis and is well placed to deliver the Irish verdict on Parrott’s arrival from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
“Obviously you don’t want to eulogise people in life before they have done anything, but this is a massive step for the Irish people that are here,” he said.
“It’s a sense of enormous pride. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and to have one of our own here, slugging it out with the best, is fantastic.”
It’s not just the Irish community that has revelled in Parrott’s arrival.
The 24-year-old Ireland international and hero of last November’s World Cup qualifier wins over Portugal and Hungary has been on Betis fans’ wish-list for a while.
“There was a lot of excitement (when he signed),” said Martin. “People were absolutely overjoyed, because his name had been on the table… they’d been talking about him since December.
“You know the way the media create a type of expectation. Then for it to come to fruition, I think people felt a certain amount of relief, because he was the guy they wanted.
“That he was able to come here and you could see, from his part, he did whatever was in his ability to make it happen, people really appreciate that.
“Some footballers, in the end it’s the bottom line, that’s all they are interested in.
“But regarding Troy, you could see his reaction. He was in the stands for the first home match and he got it, he understood that it’s a very special club.
“It works differently here. People are very passionate. If you get it, if you understand the essence of the club, people will see it. It’s not something you can fake.”
Martin has some advice for Parrott if he wants to make the most of his time in Spain.
Seville is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, with plenty of attractions and some of the finest casual dining, with tapas bars on almost every street.
There are plenty of festivals for Parrott and his family to enjoy too, once his football schedule allows for it.
“The Moorish Palace, the Alcazar, is a wonder. It’s a must-see,” said Martin. “And all visitors go to the Cathedral.
“I think what people really enjoy here is that the city itself is a living monument, and you can walk around and soak up the atmosphere.
“I think what is very important is to get into the lifestyle of how the people here are.
“It’s different as a professional footballer and that that requires of you, but people here spend a lot of time in the streets, it’s a very sociable place. So get to know the people.
“Learning the language is also very important to how you are perceived. You can get on (with English), but as a foreigner who has lived here for a long time, it opens up different dimensions of the city.
“The people of Seville, what they are most proud of is their Feria in April, their Spring Fair. It started off as a horse fair, but now it’s a massive beer drinking, dancing, music festival.
“People are enormously proud of Easter too, the religious processions.
“It’s pure street theater with bands and really old statues on very ornate platforms, with wrought iron and candles, nighttime processions, swaying to the music. This drives people absolutely… it pushes all their buttons.
“You’ve got to enjoy the climate too. They’ve come from the Netherlands, where their weather would be similar to the Irish weather. There are some great towns to visit too.
“The lifestyle here can be absolutely fantastic. It’s very hard to settle into a northern European lifestyle after you have lived here for a while.”
Martin would love to welcome Parrott into his bar some day – and he is itching to get his hands on a signed jersey.
He already has a spot in mind for the shirt.
“I think I’d put it on the stairway as you are coming up. It’s a prime place and it’s an empty wall at the minute. It’s begging for it,” he said.