Our columnist Frank Brandon discusses Mayo’s historic All-Ireland win, the ensuing homecoming celebrations in Castlebar, local sport, the negative effects of the recent heatwave, and more
It’s Monday morning as I write, and I have to admit that I am still buzzing after Mayo’s great win in the All-Ireland football final yesterday.
No matter what county you come from (except maybe Kerry), you couldn’t help but be moved by the extraordinary scenes in Croke Park, as Mayo ended a 75-year wait for Sam Maguire – a wait that had seen the county suffer heartbreak after heartbreak in their efforts to bring home the iconic trophy.
As the hooter blew (or whatever the hooter does) to signal the end of the game, the sight of so many Mayo supporters crying and blessing themselves at the excitement and relief of it all was just fantastic. And in fairness to Kerry, even their supporters stayed around until the trophy was presented to the Mayo captain Jack Coyne.
Sometimes the commentary of South American presenters can be off the wall when their team scores a goal, but the Midwest Radio commentary on the final couple of minutes must rank up there with anything I have ever heard! If you haven’t heard it yet, you will find it on the old Twitter (or X as it’s now known).
The speech by the Mayo captain was simply brilliant; he remembered previous players, managements, and supporters who had died without ever seeing Sam come to Mayo, and it was such a thoughtful few words. It made the whole occasion even more special.
Now I am no expert on footballing matters – although I told anyone who would listen to me (very few) last week that there was no way Mayo could lose – and as I woke up early this morning, I thought back to my own very short and highly inglorious inter-county career. I will admit that thinking back on it didn’t take me very long, as my career lasted about a total of six months, but I still remember something our then-manager, the great Sean Young, said to us when I was called into the county panel in 1974/75.
He told us forwards that if we weren’t able to put the ball over the bar from 40 to 50 yards, we shouldn’t be there. I thought of those words when I heard Aidan O’Shea being interviewed yesterday; he said that Andy Moran told his team to keep shooting, and more or less added what harm if the kick went wide?
A few years ago a friend of mine was involved with a county team, and he told me that the stats man was nearly the most important person on the management team. If a forward had three failed attempts to score a point, he would get the crooked finger and be hauled off – which of course led to players being so afraid of failure that they refused to take the shot at all. Back a few years ago, we all saw games where forwards had a clear shot at goal but they kept on passing it back and recycling the ball.
I know there were more packed defences then, but fair play to Andy Moran for encouraging his lads to shoot if the shot was on. While there was an odd one dropped into the goalie’s hands on Sunday, the good thing was that they kept going for the scores and in fact outscored Kerry in the two-pointers by four to one.
Anyway, after the game, which I watched at home with my son Paul, I headed up to Mikeen’s to join in the post-match discussion. It was nice to see that in a packed pub, which was mainly full of Galway and Roscommon people (although we had at least one Mayo woman, Karen), everyone was delighted with the Connacht team’s win. It’s funny how there is so much rivalry between teams when they play against each other, but generally Connacht people will support whatever team makes it to an All-Ireland final.
It’s now midday on Monday, and I am trying to decide if I’ll go to Castlebar to take part in the almost unprecedented homecoming… watch this space.
Celebrating the return of Sam
I said watch this space, and I am mad at myself – because I didn’t actually go to Castlebar.
However, two of my children, Paul and Lisa, along with two of my grandchildren, Riley and Hayley, were in MacHale Park for all the festivities. I made every excuse not to go – that I’m too old, that the crowd would be too big, and that I’d have to walk too far – but the truth is that after watching the whole thing on Mayo.ie, I really regret staying at home.
The crowd was enormous and the entertainment was pretty good, but I would say the atmosphere was electric, and that’s the bit I’m sorry I missed. We all knew that this homecoming would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it certainly was.
However, I am writing this as Paul and Lisa and her crew are just leaving MacHale Park, so I’ll wait and see how long it takes for them to get home… if it’s a very long time I might not be so sad that I didn’t go!
Anyway, congrats to Mayo on a famous win – and a well deserved one too. But I’m sure that Roscommon and Galway are already rubbing their hands at the thought of meeting the All-Ireland champions in the league, and particularly in the championship next year!
Too hot to handle
Wildfires are becoming a serious threat to property and forestry all over the world. Even here in Ireland, where we have one of the most agreeable climates on the planet, events in Tipperary and Wicklow have shown how dangerous and unpredictable these fires can be.
On Slievenamon, in Tipperary, a large wildfire has been burning now for more than a week, and almost 1800 acres of the landscape and forestry have been destroyed. Over in Glencree, in Wicklow, a “ground-zero apocalypse” has taken place on the uplands at the Featherbeds and more than 700 ‘man hours’ have gone into fighting the blaze.
Obviously the recent very warm spell of weather has left woodlands and grassy areas highly susceptible to fire, and we are all warned to be very careful while out and about, and not to be using portable barbecues or even throwing away cigarette butts.
However, as bad as it is here, over in mainland Europe, it’s catastrophic. As I write, the entire French city of Bordeaux may have to be evacuated. The fires, which the French Interior Minister has said have taken on a life of their own, are now only 15kms from the outskirts of the city – and its population of almost 300,000 people may have to be evacuated.
Up to now, all I knew of Bordeaux was that it was home to the wonderful Bordeaux Bègles rugby team – European Cup champions and one of the most exciting club teams anywhere. But now Bordeaux is famous for very different reasons. Let’s hope the fires are brought under control before any more damage to landscape or property is done.
Sometimes we give out about our rainfall, but the people of Tipperary and Wicklow are now praying for some badly needed rain. In the month of July, how ironic is that?
And as if the fires in Tipperary weren’t bad enough, what about the lowlifes and thugs who targeted cars, vans, and jeeps belonging to firefighters who were tackling the blaze on Saturday night? And who stole a large number of personal items, as well as causing criminal damage to a number of vehicles?
I have to say that sometimes you’d wonder what type of a scumbag would do such a thing. It’s hard to believe that anyone would stoop so low.
And finally…
After all the excitement of the men’s All-Ireland final, in local sport, the club championships start this weekend. Our (Creggs) footballers have a tough start in the Intermediate Championship with an away tie against Shannon Gaels in Croghan at 6 pm on Saturday evening.
Having lost our top scorer, Ronan Dowd, to Australia, it will be a tall order for our lads to come out with a win. So like John Kiely in Limerick, I am calling on all our supporters to hit for Croghan on Saturday evening and give the lads a bit of support!
It definitely worked for Limerick, so let’s see you all in Croghan on Saturday evening!
‘Til next week, bye for now!
