Cool-hand Luke comes of age

THE scribes were penning their fairytales and logic was losing the battle with reality when Luke Feeney descended from the stand in MacHale Park with the man of the match award in his hand.

The 17-year-old had been the star of the show and the smile stretched across his face said more than the wordsmiths could ever come up with.

“It's a dream come true,” he told The Mayo News. “I never imagined anything like this would ever happen. I was injured all year, and when I came back I was just delighted to be involved with the senior squad, never mind contributing on the pitch on county final day. It's just unbelievable really,”

Feeney will celebrate his 18th birthday a few days before Christmas and was the youngest player on the pitch on Sunday – a fact not lost on the full-forward.

“We're so lucky to have so many experienced players in the team. A lot of the boys have been playing senior football longer than I've been alive, so it's great to see them get what they deserve after years of service to the club.

“It's also nice to see so many people out on the pitch too and all our families. It makes it all so special when you can share it with family and friends.”

You wonder was the 2022 Mayo minor nervous before Sunday's big game?

“I'd be nervous before most games but when the first ball comes to you and you get it the nerves go and it just flows,” the Leaving Cert student at St Muredach’s College added before describing the moment he kicked Ballina two points clear in the dying moments.

“I couldn't believe it when the ball went over the bar and I turned around and heard the massive roar. We knew we had nearly won it at that stage and it was a feeling I'll never forget. “We're so delighted to have won.

“It will sink in when we get back to Ballina and we can all get together in the clubhouse.

“You can tell how much it means to people when you see the joy on the faces all around us. It's just brilliant. I know the club has won a lot over the years, but it's a long time since we were county champions and the joy you see here is very special.”

Nearby, Feeney's attacking colleague Evan Regan was holding court.

He had been the team's water-boy in 2007 when the last title was won and after a lifetime in the green and red he had finally got hands on the Moclair Cup.

“There were times when I doubted this moment would ever come,” he told The Mayo News. “We were fighting relegation battles for the majority of my senior career and celebrating if we managed to get out of the group. In those days the Moclair Cup was not on my list of priorities.

“It's so surreal that it has happened now and we're standing here as county champions.”