Mayo’s French connection fly the flag

GREEN AND RED Inside the Westport Inn pub in Rennes, France watching the drawn All-Ireland final were, from left: Niall Murphy from Ballinrobe, Jim MacCormack and Guillaume Treluyer.

Daniel Carey

WHEN she read Rob Murphy’s compilation of Mayo fans abroad ahead of the drawn All-Ireland final, Caitriona Doyle knew where she’d watch the match.
The woman from Clogher, Bohola was in France on the weekend of September 17-18, and ‘persuaded’ her first cousin, Jim MacCormack, to drive the 60 kilometres to Rennes. It was her first time meeting 81-year-old Jim – who lives in Pleudihen-sur-Rance in the north of Brittany – since she was a baby.
They watched the game in the Westport Inn, an Irish pub in Rennes which got a mention in Guillaume Treluyer’s account of following Mayo from abroad, which appeared in The Mayo News on September 13.
Jim, Caitriona, her sister Anna Muggridge and first cousin Gloria Kelly (both of whom live in England) got a great welcome in the Westport Inn. Among those they met in Rennes were the aforementioned Guillaume Treluyer and Ballinrobe native Niall Murphy. Niall is the player/coach of the 60-strong Rennes GAA Club in Brittany, only two of whom are from Ireland.
 “The bar was packed and one could have been in a Mayo pub with the excitement,” Caitriona told us by email. “It was such an occasion. Mainly French there but all die-hard Mayo supporters. Jim was especially pleased about the fact that the French were so into it.”
Last Saturday, Caitriona was in Croke Park for the replay. No doubt when Sam finally comes west, there’ll be some party in Rennes