Liverpool man with dad from Mayo writes song ahead of All-Ireland final
A Liverpool lad with strong roots to Bofeenaun in Mayo has come up with the lyrics for ‘Dancing at Pontoon’ played to the tune of ‘The Wearing of the Green’.
Ruarí Loftus hails from Liverpool himself but his connection to Mayo is strong.
“My Dad was raised by his Uncle (his mothers brother), who were from Bofeenaun (Cloughbrack Far) but he was born in Tubbernavine, one townland into Lahardane/Addergoole. Bofeenaun would be my own preference as we always spent a lot of time on Cloughbrack as kids and that’s really where the heart is. We always used to make Kevin Loftus' our first port of call to try and get Lahardane MacHales tops as kid.”
He says, they love Rake Street too. Ruarí learnt to play pool there as a kid and now they always try to get in for a few pints whenever they're all home.
And now, Ruarí is set on watching the big All-Ireland final against Kerry at the Liverpool Irish Centre, Saint Michaels. And to get the hype train going, he’s rewritten the lyrics of the popular song ‘The Wearing of the Green’ and coined it ‘Dancing at Pontoon’.
Here are a few verses of the song:
“There’s not a line cast off Mulranny Pier,
There’s no pilgrims up the Reek,
There’s not one farmer footing turf,
Beneath proud Nephin’s peak.
“There’s no racing down in Ballinrobe,
No vigils up at Knock,
But we’ll raise a glass to Father James.
When we’re flying Sammy back.
“Being a Mayo fan here,” Ruarí explains: “There are absolutely tonnes of bars in Liverpool that'll show most of the games and if you go into any of the Irish bars on Slater Street or Ranelagh street on any given weekend you'll meet people from every county of Ireland.”
It’s another song contributing to an exciting build-up to match day on Sunday.
Many are quoting Mayo manager Andy Moran from after the semi-final win versus Louth, when he replied to a reporter: “If the Mayo reporters want to go a bit nuts, let them.”
In any case, there will be thousands of green and red jerseys travelling to Dublin next weekend in the hope of ending the 75-year-wait to bring the Sam Maguire Cup home.