Mayo pub booms as Caelan Doris takes on the All Blacks

The lights twinkled in the land over the ocean in Kilcummin on Friday night and the only sound dancing through the silence was the Atlantic waves kissing the clay. The stunning coastal village wrote its name in history on an August day in 1798 and last Friday night legend and lore came calling once again.

Caelan Doris a young man who grew up a stone's throw from where General Humbert made landfall in Kilcummin with a French invasion force 226 years earlier was about to lead out Ireland against New Zealand for Friday night’s blockbuster.

The Lacken native is one of the most recognisable sportsmen on the planet and as kick-off time approached, Bessie's, his local pub was the place to be. The welcoming watering-hole owned by Nollaig Collins and her husband Michael D McAndrew reopened last December and has been booming ever since, but Friday night was special as the locals streamed in from the hinterland.

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Twenty minutes before the kick-off there was a sense of quiet excitement in the pub which has been a central cog in the community since 1850. At one end of the bar, former Mayo defender Mícheál Collins took up residence in the midst of family and friends. The man who rampaged up the wing in the green and red still looked fit enough to tog out and tough enough to look after himself in the rough and tumble of the Aviva too if Doris got involved in any bit of a schmozzle.

PRIDE

At the other end, another group of young locals settled in. Niall McDonnell who caught the eye with Northern Gaels during the summer was there with Mayo Minor midfielder Owen Loughney and a group of friends waiting to see one of their own lead out Ireland.

On the walls were pictures of famous Lacken Sarsfields teams from the sixties and seventies. Mighty men with shoulders broad in green, white and orange jerseys looked down proudly as kick-off time came closer.

Suddenly a hush fell over the gathering as the television screens showed the Irish team emerging from the dressingroom with Doris at the front of the band.

He bent down and shook the hand of the waiting mascots, a move which didn't surprise a powerful-looking man sitting at the bar. “He always has a word for kids. Look at the way they're looking at him,” he stated as the children in Dublin stared in awe at the man from Lacken.

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A few minutes later, another hush fell over Bessie's as Amhrán na bFhíann and Ireland's Call rang around The Aviva. Doris led the singing and his enchanting tones weren't lost on his neighbours.

“Michael D, you'll have to get him to sing when he's here for Christmas,” a young woman shouts in across the bar to the owner with a smile stretched across her face.

HISTORY

The people of Kilcummin and the surrounding villages are well used to sporting challenges. They've been taking on the world for more than a century and in a bookshelf in the corner of the pub rested the impressive history of the local GAA club, 'The Life and Times of Lacken Sarsfields' by the late John Cosgrove. A quick flick through the book yielded interesting reading and the headline on page 140 – 'Lacken people gone wild' – caught the eye.

The locals certainly weren't wild on Friday night, instead they were determined, excited and happy. They were proud of their friend and neighbour. They were excited to see him leading Ireland in the biggest sporting event on the planet and happy to be in Bessie's watching the action among their own.

Angela O’Kelly, a woman who glories in the beauty of the locality every day of her life was in the midst of the fun. “To be here watching Caelan in Bessie’s, which is our community centre, our meeting place to discuss and propose solutions to the myriad of world problems is very special,” she explained as a roar erupted from those along the bar as Doris slipped a pass to James Lowe and Ireland went on the attack. 

At half time, the men in green trailed 6-9, but in Lacken the locals weren't worried. They knew their friend and neighbour would spare nothing in search of victory during the second half.

Bessie's is a very impressive venue, filled with warmth and welcome. In recent years, like many rural pubs, it closed down but Nollaig, Michael D and their daughter Anna Rose have breathed new life into it and on Friday night it was booming.

“We love it,” Michael D told The Mayo News. “This is an amazing community and we cannot thank them enough for the way they support us. There’ a long tradition here in Bessie’s and we know how important it is to the community, but we want the people to know how important they are to us too,” he added as the second half began with Ireland on the front foot.

PENALTIES

In Dublin, Josh van der Flier got over for a try and the roof nearly came off in Kilcummin. The place was rocking and the prospect of one of their own leading Ireland to victory wasn’t lost on the locals.

“C’mon Mayo,” one man roared as Doris appeared on the screens dotted around the pub. “Tear into them,” another added and the Irish captain’s local was buzzing.

However, that was as good as it got for the men in green and as a stream of penalties went against them the referee didn’t escape censure in Bessie’s. “If that fella with the whistle ever shows his face here he'll have to buy the beer for everyone,” one watcher warned with a twinkle in his eye.

Soon, it became clear that the Lacken man would not lead Ireland to victory on Friday night, but it didn't dampen the mood. Bessie’s Brigade know the big man has a sparkling future stretching out in front of him and may even get to sing in the bar at Christmas if he’s lucky. He may be one of the best rugby players in the world but in Bessie’s he’s just the lad from down the road.