Maurice Brosnan: Garrymore’s joy and Kobe’s pain in a game that gives and takes
Garrymore's Eoin McGreal tracks Crossmolina's Kobe McDonald Pic Conor McKeown
Eventually, it reduced him to his haunches. Jordan Flynn’s two-point attempt was blocked down, but the rebound found its way to Kobe McDonald, who let fly. This was the chance.
To the relief of a seismic crowd in Garrymore, it went wide. Crossmolina were two points down and in need of a moment of inspiration to avoid a shock exit at the quarter-final stage. They couldn’t find it.
As his effort sailed wide, McDonald watched helplessly. His Mayo team-mate and diligent man-marker Eoin McGreal stood with his hands on his knees before rising in relief. His opposing teenage prospect dropped to the ground, burying his head while Conor Loftus bellowed behind him to try to organise the press and create another opportunity to salvage the situation.
What unfolded in this south Mayo club on Saturday night was extraordinary. Thousands descended on this rural club from all over. They stood on the banks; they scaled dugouts and walls, a cherrypicker was erected in a nearby field that happens to house an opportunistic local civil engineering company.
And they came for Kobe McDonald. Ever since AFL club St Kilda confirmed he had permission to play for his club during their off-season, the interest has been building. The All-Ireland winner appeared on the Late Late Show on Friday night before facing the Saturday showdown. From early to the end, the calls from the crowd were constant: “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!”
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At this point, it is worth remembering that this is an 18-year-old playing what is only his second season of adult club football. In the end, he kicked three points, including two 45s, and was fouled for another converted free. It is a healthy return at this level, but because of who he is and what he represents, they expect more.
This is the nature of Gaelic football, its pull and its power. Garrymore drew on the same forces to power a famous win. They roared into an early 0-5 to 0-1 lead with two two-pointers from Shane Nally and former Roscommon footballer Andy Glennon. At half-time, it was level as Dylan Flynn sparked a response, but the home side struck again after the turnaround, with Darren Quinn booming over from outside the arc and celebrating wildly to the packed stand.
“The club isn’t even a parish,” explained Enda Hession afterwards.
“We share a parish with Holymount-Carnmore which is the next parish over. We have no primary school, shop, pub. There is nothing really in Garrymore except a football pitch. We didn’t have that for all our history either, lads used to train in a field. A few lads spent a night in a cell, but that is another story.”
His reference to the Magnificent Seven is a nod to a group from the 1940s who continued to use the corner of a large field to play after it changed tenants. A plaque in their honour is displayed at the club.
They draw confidence from who they are. Hession knew about McGreal’s ability long before his latest man-marking assignment, on Eoin McElholm or Paudie Clifford.
“He has done it all season. He had a bad hamstring injury so he missed all the league and some of the championship, but once he came back in he was our main man-marker with Mayo. He was doing really good jobs on whoever he was on.
“I wasn’t surprised. These guys, Crossmolina, have absolute stars on their team but we were confident in our guys to take them out of the game and do a job on them. It was a great job again by McGreal and all the lads tonight.”
There is a point here too. Despite Saturday’s extraordinary scenes, Garrymore will not be favourites for the county title. Nothing is guaranteed. A disappointing night changes little for McDonald or the county. There will be frustration and disappointment, sure, but that will eventually become motivation for whatever comes next.
Nor is this a conclusion. There is every chance the teenager will be back to play again in 2027. As much as Gaelic football can seem removed from everyday life, it is also like life in this way. We like definitive endings, a clean finale, everything nice and tidy. The reality is to turn up, keep going, endure the rough days and enjoy the good ones all the more for it. That is the game.
D. Quinn 0-5 ( 1tp, 2f); S. Nally (tp); C, Slattery, A. Glennon (tp), M. Gibbons 0-2 each; E. McGreal 0-1.
K. McDonald 0-3 (2 45); D. Flynn 0-3 (1 tp);F. Duffy 0-2 (2 f); N. Coggins, D. Coggins, J. Maheady, C. Loftus, 0-1 each.
: B. Lynskey; C. Commins, J. Oates, J. Commins; D. Dolan, L. Og Horkan, E. McGreal; G. Golden, A. Hughes; E. Hession, A. Glennon, S. Nally; D. Quinn, C. Slattery, T. Nally.
Subs: M. Gibbons for Nally (30); P. Hession for Dolan (44); J. Hession for Nally (59).
: P. Loftus; S. Og McAonghusa, M. Gordetskyy, A Coggins; J. Moyles, C. Loftus, D. Coggins; J. Flynn, M. Loftus; D. Flynn, K. McDonald, N. Coggins; O. Deane, J. Maheady, D. Walsh.
Subs: D. Fox for Coggins, F. Duffy for Loftus (half-time); P. Leddy for Deane (46).
: S. Corcoran.
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