Tá siad ag teacht: Mayo's All-Ireland aces deliver Sam Maguire to proud island folk
Here they come: The ferry carrying Sam Maguire is escorted across from the mainland to Inishturk Island off Mayo.
Over the waves they came, ferry and escort. A crossing 75 years in the making and buffeted by sporting heartbreak.
The pier at Roonagh, immortalised in the Saw Doctors’ classic song Clare Island, finally welcomed its most famous visitor this week.
The Sam Maguire Cup, set to spend its first winter in Mayo since 1951, paid visits to Inishturk and Clare Island, the two Atlantic islands served by the ‘ferry out from Roonagh,’ as the song says.
Less than a fortnight after the county’s unexpected win over Kerry in the All-Ireland final, the cup made its way to Co. Mayo’s most remote locations.
“It means so much to everyone on both islands that Sam Maguire has been here already,” said Inishturk native Danny O’Toole, who lives on the mainland and is involved in coaching with Breaffy senior men’s and Carnacon senior ladies teams.
Mayo heroes Jack Carney and Aidan O’Shea brought the cup out through Clew Bay and onto Inishturk, while Mayo GAA coaches Billy McNicholas and Kieran Kilkenny transported it to Clare Island. On both islands, Gaelic football is king.
Long before the ferry service reached its current standard, islanders made early-morning or night-before pilgrimages to Roonagh and onto Castlebar, Tuam and Dublin so that they could support the green and red.
Islanders also travel to the mainland on a regular basis to play for Louisburgh GAA and LGFA teams in west Mayo and county leagues and championships.
On their own merits, the islands field teams each year for the All-Ireland All-Island Championships.
“It is a source of pride to us that we can field our men’s and women’s teams each year. Players come home from all over Ireland, and often beyond, to line out for us and the other islands in the competition,” said long-serving Clare Island official and former all-island winning captain, Padraig O’Malley.
This June, the neighbouring Mayo islands clashed in the women’s decider on Inis Mór with Clare Island triumphing on a 1-13 to 0-4 scoreline.
“The Mayo players have been incredibly generous with their time since last Sunday week. They have gone to great lengths to see that as many people as possible got to touch the cup and that it was seen in so many places,” added Danny.
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