A day with the die-hards Over 50 supporters made the journey to Derry by bus Daniel Carey WHAT did you do last Saturday? Set up shop by the fireside? Wrap up like a Nepalese sherpa as you nipped out for the milk? Or were you one of the hardy souls who stood in the wind and rain at Celtic Park, Derry, for the opening round of the National Football League? Welcome to the world of the die-hard Mayo fan.
Just before noon last Saturday, a bus bound for Derry swung into view at The Octagon, Westport, and almost 50 people made their way onto it. That’s right, 50. On a February weekend when half the county had already got its second dose of snow in 24 hours. By the time pit-stops had been taken into account, the number of passengers on board exceeded the half-century mark. And even then, demand exceeded supply.
For 11 years now, many of this crew have been boarding buses to follow Mayo all over the country. Of course, most of them have been making trips in support of the green and red for a lot longer, only now they do it together.
Willie Kelly has been to see Mayo matches in places like Gorey, Co Wexford, and Kilkenny. He remembers being stopped by the guards in Athlone while en route to the south-east. “Where are ye from?” they wanted to know. “Mayo,” came the answer. “And where are ye going?” asked the garda. “Gorey, for a football match,” was the reply.
The cop knew die-hards when he saw them. “Get the hell out of here – ye must be mental!” he said. “And,” as the Kilmeena man put it, “if we had said ‘Kilkenny’, they’d have thought we were twice as mad!”
Asking for directions to the pitch in Gorey prompted quizzical stares from people whose knowledge of Gaelic football possibly didn’t much exceed their interest in croquet. Willie is so well travelled that it’s almost easier to identify the county grounds he hasn’t yet visited. Casement Park in Belfast and Walsh Park in Waterford are two of the few.
All ages and both genders are represented on the bus. They’re sporting ecumenists – a stopover in Bundoran has been timed to coincide with the Ireland-Italy rugby match – and knowledgeable GAA fans. Many have been at all the FBD League games. They don’t need the lowdown on Chris Barrett and Seamus O’Shea.
“It’s not a day for farming!” one man suggests. “It’s only a day for travelling!” A woman is asked about her childminding arrangements and replies with a laugh: “Hey, I feed him, I wash him, I do his laundry – so he can bloody well babysit!”
When the bus run started initially in the 1990s, John Maughan’s Pub was the departure point and Ann Baynes and Seán Langan were the chief organisers. Seán has since taken a step back but he still makes the journeys, and the box of fresh fruit he brings with him for distribution is as popular as ever with fellow passengers.
For those with a sweet tooth, Ann also distributes Quality Street and Roses. Oh, and that’s before the three-course meal in the Hollyrood Hotel, Bundoran. “There’s never less than 40 on the bus,” says Seán.
It’s obviously a huge logistical operation, and the scale of Ann’s preparation is clear when it’s confirmed that she has already booked accommodation for Mayo’s trip to Portlaoise on March 1 – another Saturday night game. That kind of forward planning even extended to the date of her wedding – in October, just in case Mayo got to an All-Ireland final and it went to a replay.
In the event, not even a provincial title was secured that year, but better safe than sorry. She’s also praised for being one of the few passengers wearing green and red. “We’ll look very slack for the photo in The Mayo News,” says one man. “We must have looked like we were going to a funeral!”
The strange names of Bundoran establishments are noted for the evening ahead – The Chasin’ Bull and The Kicking Donkey remain personal favourites. Seaside resorts are generally not overcrowded in February, and no doubt the Mayo gang’s custom will be gratefully received when they return there for the night. Before the meal, there’s time to see part of the rugby match, as Toby McWalter successfully encourages a change of channel after Emmanuel Adebayor’s late goal puts Arsenal out of Manchester City’s reach.
By 4.30pm, we’ve finished eating and brave the sea breeze once more. “Just like Roonagh!” one man says with a chuckle as he eyes the Atlantic swell. “It’s like loading hens,” says another, anxious to hurry up the queue and get on board. “Ye’re like bad cattle being driven to the mart!”
Past games, good days and bad, are recalled easily, and prompt memories of other matches. Beating Tyrone in Omagh in 2005, and in Croke Park in 1989. Coming out on top against Down up in Newcastle in 2003. And losing to Fermanagh in the championship later that year up in Sligo. “Enda Sheehy was playing that day,” says one man with a good memory. “And we were stuck to the seats for a full hour afterwards, we were so wet.”
There are plenty of laughs throughout the journey. As we enter Ballybofey, a few passengers jest that we should haul anchor here and be content with watching Kerry play Donegal. “We’ll have to be on our best behaviour tonight with The Mayo News with us!” one fan jokes.
Your reporter explains that we will be going our separate ways after the game, so anything that goes on in Bundoran won’t make it into these pages. “You’d better put something bad in about us,” comes the response, “the women won’t believe us if it’s all good!”
Just over six hours after we set off, the Bogside finally comes into view. “It must be on anyway!” says the first man to spot the yellow-clad stewards at the entrance. Mary B’s pub is located and a large percentage of the travelling support disembark to pay a return visit to an establishment they visited last July.
Like all those who were drenched that day, Willie Kelly is acutely aware that Celtic Park has floodlights but no stand. “It’ll be a raw evening up there … and no shelter!” he had predicted en route. He wasn’t wrong. They’ll do it all again in four weeks time.
