Wigan’s new striker has many Mayo connections
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Trevor Quinn
RACING up Croagh Patrick breathless on idyllic summer days is how Wigan’s new Premier League striker Conor Sammon best remembers his regular visits to Mayo as a youngster.
Dubliner Sammon sealed a £600,000 deadline-day move to Wigan Athletic after scoring an impressive 18 goals for Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League, but the likeable footballer’s roots lie firmly west of the Shannon.
Sammon has a very large extended Mayo family. His father Ambrose hails from Islandeady, while his mother Hilary is a Claremorris native. The former UCD and Derry City player says both have been instrumental in supporting him in his sporting endeavours.
“They have both been a massive influence,” he says. “From a very young age, between travelling and taking time off work, they have been very supportive. When I played with Cherry Orchard in Tallaght, it was a two-hour round trip from home to training a couple of times a week. My parents would always be willing to give up their evenings for me, which wasn’t easy after coming home from a long day’s work.”
Sammon says he recalls many a school holiday playing sport with his cousins in the bumpy terrain of Islaneady and in Claremorris. While he admits he is first and foremost a Dubliner, a red and green jersey was never too far away, and he has been a frequent visitor to Croke Park down through the years cheering on Mayo stalwarts such as Ciaran McDonald and Liam McHale.
He fondly remembers a bet he once had with his brothers and sisters that he would reach the top of the Reek first as he challenged his athletic siblings to a race which almost always ended with an abundance of grazed knees and Dettol as the youngsters hustled and harried each other up the steep mountainside.
Sammon maintains humorously that he always won, and he believes the tiresome pilgrimages were good training for his career as a footballer. The former Irish Under-21 international and SPL top scorer attracted the attention of Wigan after a prolific campaign for Kilmarnock this season.
Under the guidance of Finnish manager Mixu Paatelainen, the Malahide man shone in the limelight, carving out a reputation as one of the most feared marksmen in Scottish football. He scored twice against Old Firm giants Celtic and Rangers and spearheaded a struggling ‘Killie’ side’s progression from relegation candidates at the start of the season to a meteoric fourth place in the SPL table.
Sammon says he was happy at Kilmarnock, but the opportunity to make his mark in England is immense. He has watched with admiration how Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has helped young players like James McCarthy and James McArthur to adapt from the SPL to the biggest league in the world. “They’re making their mark on the Premier League now, which is really encouraging, and that is a great motivation to put the work in and hopefully I can do the same,” he says. “It proves that the manager here at the club has a real quality for helping players to progress and developing young players.”
Sammon’s eye for goal led the ‘Killie’ fans to dedicate a chant to him called ‘Feed the fish’ after his clinical appetite in front of goal propelled them up the league, while at UCD he was comically dubbed the ‘Sammon of Knowledge’. Relatives, friends and acquaintances in Mayo will be awaiting the dedicated 24-year-old’s progress with baited breath.
