‘Annemarie and Matthew willed us to victory’ - Castlebar Mitchels remember absent friends after latest county title

JOHN MacMonagle mentioned various things after becoming the second Castlebar Mitchels man in twelve months to captain an U-21 A county title-winning team.

He mentioned the game itself, noting that it would ‘go down in the annals of Mayo football’ as the last ever to be played in MacHale Park before Gaelic football undergoes one the most radical changes in its history.

For a few brief seconds, this momentous moment evaporated with MacMonagle’s next remarks, where he paid tribute to two people who left the club in body but remain in spirit.

“How fitting it is, that such a historic match, can honour two amazing Castlebar people; Annemarie Cunningham, and Matthew Mullahy,” MacMonagle told the crowd.

Matthew Mullahy, a rising star with Castlebar Mitchels, departed this earth in January at the age of 19.

“Matthew was a teammate of ours, a friend to us all, and somebody who should be here with us today,” said MacMonagle.

Annemarie Cunningham died in April after a heroic battle with cancer. Her sons, Shane and Mark, played for Castlebar Mitchels on Sunday. Her husband, Jarlath, kept a close watch from the sideline as the team’s stats man.

MacMonagle cast an eye back to their epic semi-final meeting against Claremorris.

“Without our main men, Bob [Tuohy] and Seán [Morahan], we found ourselves heading into extra-time having led the game by eleven points at one stage. I was told we looked like a beaten team, with Claremorris only ready to deliver the knockout blow. However, little did we know as we ran out for extra time that we had the help of two extra people that day.”

They weren’t to be seen in the stand or on the field but in the hearts and minds of the Castlebar Mitchels footballers.

“There is no doubt that Annemarie and Matthew willed us to victory down in Claremorris. They pulled us over the line when we had nothing left to give, and they were here with us today, to make sure we finished the job,” continued MacMonagle.

“Both Annemarie and Matthew have left lasting legacies in the community of Castlebar. Their legacies will continue to be lived by all who knew and loved them. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anamnacha.”

Nothing more needed to be said, except by two young men who live those legacies every day they pull on a jersey.

“It’s unreal. I was saying to the boys before it was the last cup we won with my mother alive so she would want us to win that if it was anything, “said Mark Cunningham, more than eight months after burying his beloved mother

“She has been with me in every final, everything, I’m just happy to win it for her, me and Shane.”

That is the same young man who lined out for Mayo in the Oscar Traynor Cup final just days after losing his mother.

But win or lose, she never was and never will be far from her sons.

“It’s a huge driver,” Shane told The Mayo News. “On that last run and you feel like giving up and you just think of all the sh**e she had to go through and stuff and the chemo… it really gets us over the line.

“There is nothing worse than losing someone you’re close with. That’s how I look at it and I’ll never lose a match again, the only thing I’ve lost in my life is my mum and everything else is just a bonus.

“Even today, if we had lost today you’d regroup and go again because there is more things in life in football and football is unbelievable and it’s a great distraction.”

There was one final stop to be made before the celebrations began in earnest.

“We’ll have to take a quick spin out to the grave now with the cup after this and we’ll enjoy our night then.”