Donaghy was almost hit by St Patrick’s wooden spoon
FOOTBALL NEWS
Mike Finnerty
A WOODEN spoon belonging to well-known Mayo supporter John Durcan (aka St Patrick) is believed to be the object that was thrown at Kerry footballer, Kieran Donaghy, during the recent National Football League game in Castlebar.
The Mayo News has learned that the missile thrown at the Kerry footballer in the closing stages of the match at McHale Park was a spare wooden spoon that is owned by Mayo’s most colourful supporter.
Durcan, who attends most Mayo games dressed as St Patrick in the county colours, confirmed that he noticed his wooden spoon missing after the game. He admitted that he was ‘angry’ and ‘disappointed’ by the actions of a ‘minority of our supporters’.
“I bring two wooden spoons to all the Mayo games, one in the Mayo colours and a spare one,” explained Durcan, who lives in Coguala, outside Westport. “I keep the spare inside the bodhrán in case the other one breaks and it’s secured in there good and tight. A couple of young lads were looking at my bodhrán during the first half and must have taken the wooden spoon out.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard afterwards that someone had thrown something at Kieran Donaghy. I’m very angry about it. It was an awful thing to do and shouldn’t have happened.
“But I’ve been going to Mayo games for a long time and there is a small minority of teenagers at games in Castlebar that seem intent on causing trouble. There were coins thrown at the Kerry goalkeeper and at Kieran Donaghy and that’s not good enough.”
The Mayo GAA Board intend to study video evidence in an effort to identify the person who hurled the object at the former Football of the Year. Mayo GAA Secretary, Sean Feeney, said that the board were treating the matter very seriously and that a number of objects had reportedly been thrown at Kerry players.
“We’re very disappointed about the whole thing,” he said. “I understand that the Kerry goalkeeper also handed in some coins that he said had been thrown at him so we’ll have to look at our stewarding arrangements in detail.
“The responsibility is 100% ours and we have to hold our hands up. Unfortunately, there’s a minority element going to Mayo games that we could do without.
“We are going to sit down and study the match video and try and identify who threw the missile at Kieran Donaghy. We had trouble in the past with a pitch invasion at the Dublin game last year and we want to nip this kind of behaviour in the bud. We will be taking all the necessary steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
“Every footballer is entitled to feel safe and secure when they are on the field of play and this kind of behaviour does a great disservice to all the genuine Mayo supporters out there.”
The matter is expected to be discussed at a meeting in Croke Park tomorrow (Wednesday).
