One-hundred years of history and a year of turmoil and glory for Castlebar Celtic

THE acclaimed psychotherapist Carl Jung once said: “No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”

The glory, struggle, frustration and tragedy of Castlebar Celtic’s past year somewhat encapsulates the club’s century-long history.

The glory: An unbeaten run to the 2023 Mayo Super League (another one seems to be on the way, with the way their 2024 season has been going).

The struggle: A FAI Junior Cup loss to Pike Rovers and a defeat on penalties to Athenry in last year’s Connacht Junior Cup final.

The frustration: A fixtures saga sparked by the appointment of Mayo officials to their 1-0 Connacht Junior Cup semi-final win over Salthill Devon that upended an entire team before the date and opposition were finally fixed for last Sunday.

But those struggles and frustrations could only pale in comparison to the tragedy that struck the club over the past year.

In January, the club lost a talented young player with the tragic passing of 19-year-old Matthew Mullahy. In April, Mark Cunningham, a mainstay of Castlebar Celtic’s Super League team, buried his mother Anne-Marie just days before he lined out for Mayo in the Oscar Traynor Cup final.

A maelstrom of joy, anger and frustration and excitement swirled around the Lecarrow long before and long after Ioseph O’Reilly hoisted Celtic’s tenth Connacht Junior Cup.

The Celtic support travelled in their droves. They chanted and roared their team on from beginning to end; young men and women, children, babies, former players; all proud supporters of a club that rallied around its own during their darkest hours.

_{Castlebar Celtic supporters invade the pitch after the Connacht Junior Cup final (Pic: The Mayo News)}

The game itself was decent, but far from stellar. The hits came thick and fast, culminating in a sending off for Maree Oranmore - who gave a gallant and sporting display in their first ever Connacht final.

While Celtic were tossed from Billy to Jack in the week’s beforehand, Maree Oranmore were left in limbo not knowing who they’d be playing in the provincial final - or when.

They gave Celtic as good of a game as they’d gotten in a long time, but a 2-1 defeat still flattered them a bit.

The one-goal margin only enhanced the tension released at the full-time whistle.

In an instant, the bumpy Lecarrow sod was bedecked in green and white and smiles of joy unrestrained and the heart-break, frustration and tragedy of the past year was all forgotten.

The club who’s been through hell reached straight for the heaven’s above. They’d done it all, but there was still plenty left unsaid.

An emotional Ioseph O’Reilly began a graceful and humble acceptance speech by introducing the club’s Chairman, Joe McDonald, and Secretary Marian Robinson, thanking them for their diligent, often thankless work in keeping the club going all year round.

The ‘Celtic captain then addressed the elephant in the room and quickly proceeded to torch it with a flamethrower.

“Honestly I think I should be up here asking for an apology,” O’Reilly said directly to two stunned Connacht FA officials.

In Castlebar Celtic’s first public statement on the weeks-long fixtures debacle, the 35-year-old defender laid bare the impact the saga had on ‘players, clubs, relationships, people's mental health’.

^{Stefan Hester (left) of Castlebar Celtic with teammate Mark Cunningham following their Connacht Junior Cup final win (Pic: The Mayo News)}

This included young Mark Cunningham, who endured ‘mental torture’ at the thought of missing a Connacht Cup final he wanted to win in memory of his late mother.

Gone from body, though not in spirit, Mark sported a picture of his mother on a white t-shirt immediately after the full-time whistle.

“I’ve been up to her praying that we’ll win this game, every day, praying that we’ll win this game,” Cunningham told The Mayo News afterwards. “She made my dream come true. So I’m happy.”

The club that had been through hell had made it to heaven.

That was confirmed when O’Reilly concluded his post-match remarks by turning to the Connacht FA blazers to unleash one last parting missile: “C’mon the f**king Hoops!”

The men who met in Market Square on that fateful day in 1924 to found Castlebar Celtic are surely looking down with pride.