Born on 12 May 1911, in
York, Western Australia, Screaigh was one of twelve children (nine of whom survived infancy) born to Edward Screaigh (1878–1959) and Maud Weatherall (1879–1974). On his father's side he was of
English and
Irish descent, with his father's maternal grandfather, James Hayden, born in
Dublin in 1809. Screaigh originally played for the Central Football Club in the York District Football Association (YDFA). He first attracted the attention of recruiters at the end of the 1930 season, but declined their invitation after no job could be found for him in
Perth. He again drew the interest of recruiters the following year after winning the Selby Medal for the best player in the YDFA, and was recruited by for the 1932 season. He had an immediate impact, winning the club's
best and fairest in his first season. He also played in the losing grand final side against . Screaigh again won the club best and fairest in 1933, and was selected as the rover in a WANFL representative side at the
1933 Sydney Carnival, at the time being considered "the leading rover in the league". He kicked six goals in four games to be considered one of the side's best players. He also finished runner-up by one vote in the
Sandover Medal to 's
Sammy Clarke. He again represented the WANFL at interstate level in
1934, playing two games against the SANFL, kicking three goals. He won his third consecutive best and fairest award, and was also East Perth's leading goalkicker, in part due to the absence of a key marking forward. This was repeated in 1935. Screaigh was a key member of East Perth's successive 1936 finals competition which culminated in a grand final victory. Despite being considered strong underdogs, East Perth defeated in the first semi-final 6.11 (47) to 5.16 (46), winning through to a preliminary final against . In front of a crowd of 10,079 at
Subiaco Oval, East Fremantle led by 13 points with four minutes remaining. East Perth managed to kick 2.2 in the final minutes to win 14.14 (98) to 14.13 (97), with Screaigh kicking 1.2, including the winning goal, crumbed from a pack with three seconds remaining. The club subsequently won the grand final against 11.5 (71) to 9.6 (60), with Screaigh again kicking a goal with the last kick after the match After the retirement of previous captain
Mick Cronin due to a leg injury before the 1940 season, Screaigh was appointed captain of the club for the 1940 season, with Cronin remaining in a role as non-playing coach. Cronin returned to the game in 1941 and was re-appointed captain, with Screaigh returning to the role of vice-captain. Screaigh enlisted in the
2/11th Battalion of the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a
private in 1942. He served on home duty and in New Guinea during the war. Screaigh captained the battalion's football team in the
6th Division's football league hosted in North Queensland, and was also captain of a combined AIF team in 1944. He was discharged from the army in 1945 after the 2/11th was disbanded, and returned to East Perth for the 1946 season, playing his 200th game on 13 July 1946, against .
The Daily News reported Screaigh had "maintained much of his skill of former years". He retired at the end of the 1946 season. ==Later life==