Sam triumphantly crosses border into Donegal

The Sam Maguire was last night walked across the border from Fermanagh into its new home for the next 12 months in Donegal.

Donegal team manager Jim McGuinness and skipper Michael Murphy stepped from the team bus and together walked the bridge spanning the River Termon into the first Donegal town on their way home, Pettigo.

Several thousand packed the tiny town for Sam’s arrival back into the county of the hills for the first time in 20 years.

A line of green and gold houses, specially repainted by the business folk, was the first sight the players saw as they walked past the home of 80-year-old Rita Gallagher of Pettigo Post Office.

Murphy, 23, gave the fans a repeat of his performance in the stands at Croke Park when he sang a verse of the new Donegal football anthem, ‘Jimmy’s Winning Matches’, recorded by Lanzarote-based Donegal singer Rory Gallagher.

The song has now had about 1m internet views.

Murphy was loudly cheered as he promised the crowd: “We aim to bring Sam back for another year or two.”

Drenched fans happily ignored the steady rain as they cheered their heroes.

The biggest cheer of the night came from 25,000 fans when the team later arrived 30km further down the road into Donegal Town, where wellwishers and performers included Daniel O’Donnell, Mickey Joe Harte, Margo, Rory Gallagher (who was home from the Canaries), and local bands Rockhill Ramblers and Free Whiskey.

Daniel told the crowd: “I missed the home coming in 1992 but a disruption of flight plans made certain I would miss a promotion appointment in America to be in Croke Park and here tonight.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. These lads are my heroes. They’re everybody’s heroes.”

From 4pm — more than five hours before the coach carrying the squad reached the main reception — Donegal Town was closed to traffic with taxis ferrying people from their cars parked on nearby roads.

Sam and the team will spend the next month visiting every town and village in Donegal.