Galway hurling double backed in Bofeenaun

FAMILY TIES SeΡn Loftus, whose father John is a native of Bofeenaun, pictured when he captained Galway minor hurlers to All-Ireland glory in 2015. He is part of the Galway seniors bidding for All-Ireland glory on Sunday.  Pic: Sportsfile

Edwin McGreal

Most of the talk in Mayo is of the All-Ireland football final on September 17 next but in plenty of pockets of the county there will be strong interest in Sunday’s hurling All-Ireland.
And for the Loftus family in Bofeenaun there will be interest on the double.
Sarah Loftus in Cloughbrack, Bofeenaun will watch on with pride as two of her grandchildren take to Croke Park in the Galway colours.
Her son John and daughter-in-law Bernie live in Turloughmore, Galway and have huge involvement in hurling’s showpiece occasion.
SeΡn Loftus is a member of the Galway senior hurling panel who are seeking to beat Waterford and win the county’s first senior All-Ireland since 1988.
SeΡn was captain of the Galway Minor team which won the All-Ireland Minor title in 2015 and has already progressed to the senior ranks.
His younger brother Daniel will be hoping to follow in his footsteps. Daniel is full-back on the Galway Minor hurlers who will take on Cork in Sunday’s curtain raiser at Croke Park.
Sarah, now aged 92, and her late husband Thomas, reared a family of seven girls and four boys and she has watched so many of her grandchildren thrive in Gaelic games.
If Galway succeed in Sunday’s Senior final, incredibly SeΡn Loftus will not be the first of Sarah’s grandsons to lift the Liam McCarthy Cup.
His cousin Conor O’Brien won All-Ireland hurling titles with Tipperary in 2010 and 2016, coming on in the 2010 final, and also won five Munster senior hurling titles.
His brothers Damien and Ronan are better known as footballers and Damian played senior for Tipperary, playing in two Munster finals.
Closer to home, Sarah Loftus’s grandchildren in Carnacon have quite the sporting pedigree too. Aoife played with the Mayo ladies and won All-Ireland club titles with Carnacon.
Her twin brother Gary has won three Mayo SFC titles with Ballintubber in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Gary is also a former Mayo Minor footballer.
Another grandson, Darren McTighe is a Mayo senior hurler who scored a crucial goal in their Nicky Rackard Cup Final success over Armagh in Croke Park in 2016.
In Lahardane, brothers Shane and Keith Loftus and their cousin Adrian Leonard are all part of the current Lahardane side who play a Mayo JFC quarter-final in the coming weeks. Leonard played with Mayo Minors in 2010.

Remarkable GAA pedigree
A remarkable GAA pedigree all coming from the one home in Bofeenaun. Eight grandchildren from five of Sarah and Thomas Loftus’s children who have represented their county in football or hurling.
“Where would we be only for the GAA? The best thing any of us did was get involved in the GAA. It has given us so much,” said Michael Loftus, Aoife and Gary’s father.
“My mother is a huge football and hurling fan. I was going to the Mayo game on Saturday and she told me she wants to see them win Sam before she dies. Her favourite player is Andy Moran, she is a huge fan of him.
“We’ll all be watching the hurling now on Sunday, hoping SeΡn and Daniel are both on the winning teams,” said Michael.
The brothers live in Turloughmore and their father is John Loftus, a former Lahardane player. Their mother, Bernie, is a Galway native.
To square the circle, Turloughmore are being managed this year by Mayo’s James Horan, the man who led his native Ballintubber to their first Mayo SFC title in 2010, with Gary Loftus among their ranks.