O’Connor Cup stars sparkle in the sunshine

REFLECTIONS

MAYO, the land of wild wonder and proud people, sparkled in the sunshine recently as the finest female footballers in the land came to battle for glory in the Higher Education Championships.
They came from the edge of the northern sea and the tip of the southern ocean; from the capital of the nation and the capital of the western kingdom. They came clad in their colourful uniforms with their battle plans in place and dreams of football glory harboured in their hearts.
The land of Granuaile, Margaret Burke-Sheridan and Mary Robinson has hosted heroines for centuries, and earlier this month they were joined by a lengthy list of worthy warriors.
More than 700 footballers, their management teams and support staff converged on Mayo for the biggest third-level football weekend ever held in the 30-year history of the O’Connor Cup.
The task of hosting, co-ordinating and completing six separate competitions fell to the talented staff of GMIT Mayo, and the ladies and gents from the Castlebar campus did not disappoint.
They ran the 18 games seamlessly, and the athletes on the pitch were serviced by the slickest of scheduling off it. Throw in the fact that the GMIT Mayo people ran the show with good humour, common sense and courtesy allied to precise professionalism said a lot about the contribution the Castlebar campus makes to life in the West of Ireland.
From the moment the event began on Friday morning – when colleges from Cavan and Galway began their quest for glory – until a long shrill whistle unleashed ecstasy for University of Limerick on Sunday evening, the county sparkled in the sunshine of sporting excellence.
The Lagan Cup went up the road to GMIT Galway early on Saturday afternoon when they defeated the fine footballers of Coleraine as the Connacht Centre of Excellence in Bekan played host to some of the finest football ever witnessed on the plains of Mayo.
The O’Connor Cup semi-final between DCU and UL was a game of the ages; played with pace, precision, passion and pride. It left spectators breathless as memories were made under a sun-splashed canopy.
Semi-finals were being battled out on the green rectangles of Bekan while teams contesting various finals moved their wagon-trains towards West Mayo.
In Islandeady, the Royal College of Surgeons and Marino Institute battled it out for the Donaghy Cup with the maroon of Marino coming out on top in PΡirc Naomh AodhΡn.
Over the road in Ballyheane, one of the tightest struggles was taking shape as UCD built up a big lead against IT Blanchardstown before Blanch’ bit back and very nearly produced parity in the end, before UCD prevailed by a single point.
Sunday morning began with Waterford IT and DIT battling for glory in the shadow of the Reek in Westport. The display of WIT in the opening half was breathtaking before DIT roared back after the break, but they couldn’t quite make up the deficit before the end.
Action then switched to Elverys MacHale Park in Castlebar, the playground of legends where heroes such as Diane O’Hora, Cora Staunton, SeΡn Flanagan, PΡdraig Carney, Ciaran McDonald and Andy Moran have etched their names in sporting lore.
The Giles Cup final pitted DCU against Athlone IT, and the battle proved worthy of the setting. The result was always in doubt but eventually the Dublin students emerged victorious amid scenes of great joy among their followers.
The big game, the O’Connor Cup final, pitted two star-laden sides into battle. UL were going for their third title in four seasons while UCC were confident of victory having eased past favorites and reigning champions UCD in the semi-final.
Large periods of the first half were dominated by the red and black of UCC, and seasoned observers believed the cup would reside on Leeside before the hour of midnight struck, but UL had other ideas.
A superb second-half display saw the Limerick students emerge victorious as scenes of elation and devastation decorated the famous patch of grass in the heart of Castlebar.
There were mixed emotions as evening fell over the Mayo capital – delight and satisfaction that the event had been so successful, but a little sadness too as one of the finest weekends of sport ever witnessed in the proud county of Mayo came to a close.
The O’Connor Cup weekend in Mayo will forever remain in the memory-banks of those lucky enough to have witnessed it, but it would never have occurred without the unstinting work and dedication of GMIT Mayo and the unrivaled support of Mayo.ie.
Until the next time …

(An appreciative observer)