The case for Garrymore to become kings of Mayo
Garrymore are attempting to win their first senior title since 1982 as they face Castlebar Mitchels on Sunday afternoon
This weekend, the men from the rural South Mayo pocket of Garrymore will be hoping for a famous day in MacHale Park as they get set to face 31-time kingpins of Mayo, Castlebar Mitchels.
The rural club has conquered the senior championship on six occasions with the latest win coming in 1982. Who did they play that day? Sunday’s opponents. The six senior championship wins are proudly noted by gleaming stars on the Garrymore jersey but when they months pass and the new season begins, will there be a seventh star on the famed red shirts? The world will find out on Sunday.
At the start of the year, if people looked at the 16 teams in the hunt for the Paddy Moclair Cup, two would stick out as dark horses, Claremorris and Garrymore. In recent years, Garrymore have always been competitive as they've always had excellent club players, the likes of Jimmy Killeen and Enda Varley, really good forwards springing to mind.
Perhaps the South Mayo men were just missing that extra edge to make the breakthrough. Now they have that edge, and they have two All-Ireland winners to add to the mix. Enda Hession and Eoin McGreal are two of the best footballers in the county, versalite, speedy, talented and with the right attitude. The dynamic duo are leading the Garrymore pack this season. However, it’s not just the two inter-county stars that have created the run that Tony Corcoran, Fintan Forde and Myles Fallon’s men have been on.
As previously mentioned, Garrymore is a place where there is little more than a football pitch, yet this small rural community has always produced excellent footballers. The experienced Shane Nally and Caolan Crowe have both represented Mayo, bringing valuable inter-county experience and leadership to the dressing room. At the heart of the defence, Jamie Oates, Colin Commins and Liam Óg Horkan have been superb this campaign.
At midfield, the experienced Gary Golden has been exceptional while his partner in tandem Aaron Hughes has also been prominent for the men in red and white. Up front, there are numerous scoring threats. Former Roscommon panelist Andy Glennon is a big physical player who has an eye for the posts. Cathal Slattery, Darren Quinn, and Mark Gibbons are all excellent forwards who aren't shy of hard work and their work-rate has been second to none in recent months.
Garrymore’s campaign started with a big win against the four in a row chasing Stephenites and since then they have toppled big guns such as Castlebar and Crossmolina before overcoming Belmullet in an extra time thriller in the semi-final.
Reaching their first county final in more than four decades, Sunday promises to be a monumental occasion for everyone from Garrymore. They are sure to have plenty of neutral support behind them too, with few things in sport capturing the imagination quite like an underdog chasing an upset. There is also an added narrative to this final, with the clash representing a classic town versus country battle between two clubs with very different backgrounds.
Garrymore will relish the chance to upset the odds and bring the cup back to their corner of South Mayo. After 44 years of waiting, they are just one game away from creating a piece of history. With a guaranteed South Mayo winner in the intermediate final, it could be a special weekend for that pocket of the county.