Victorious Donegal team stop and help Galway farmer cut his turf 

Naomh Columba’s panel and management undertook a post-match recovery session with a difference at the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta in Galway last weekend.

The Glencolumbkille, Donegal, side had just defeated Belfast’s Laochra Loch Laoi in Moycullen in the JFC quarter-final, 2-13 to 2-10.

“We were only about 15 minutes from Spiddal so the lads decided we would go there to the beach to the salt water to bathe before we were to go back to stay at Corrib Village,” explained Naomh Columba boss, Paddy J McGinley.

“We just went straight from Moycullen before we had a chance to tog in after the match.”

On their way, the team bus passed by a secluded bog with one man — a farmer named Tomás Lydon — turning his turf.

“On the way we saw a man with about an acre of turf and we made the decision to stop and help him,” McGinley added.

“I went down to introduce myself and Tomás was a little taken back to begin with. The intentions were genuine from the lads. He was maybe in his 60s and we had about 30 men altogether, aged anywhere between 15 and 40.”

After an hour of so, Naomh Columba’s players and management had turned the entire plot of turf, chatting and joking in the native tongue with their host as they did.

“When I was leaving, Tomás came up to me and thanked me and said he wouldn’t have managed to do that much in three days,” McGinley added.

“He looked again and said: ‘No. Five days actually.’ I’m glad we could’ve been of help.”

Karma didn’t really help Naomh Columba though as they were eliminated from the competition the following day having been beaten 3-7 to 1-10 by London’s Moindearg, who had nine Donegal natives on their panel.