Seamus Fogarty’s eyes always on Mayo’s eternal struggle

The London-based alt-folk singer played with Swinford up to minor when he won a county title as a substitute in 1997

But for the pandemic, Seamus Fogarty would have nestled himself into one of Croke Park’s stands that evening as he has done for several finals going back to the 1989 loss to Cork.

“More lockdowns, Mayo losing another All-Ireland… it just gets worse,” tweeted Seamus Fogarty last month, the day after his county’s 12th consecutive failed attempt at winning an All-Ireland final.

But for the pandemic, the London-based, Swinford-born, alt-folk singer would have nestled himself into one of Croke Park’s stands that evening as he has done for several finals going back to the 1989 loss to Cork when he was brought by his Ballinskelligs father “and Willie Joe (Padden) got bandaged up like a mummy”.