Unique twist as one Mayo GAA club to play part on both sides of AFL game
.jpeg?trim=0,0,0,0&crop=&width=640&quality=70&enable=upscale)
There will be plenty of Mayo representation as Fremantle Dockers and Geelong play next week
On the odd occasion, two people from the same GAA club will be represented on different sides in a game of football.
Whether it be in schools or colleges action, the notion of going toe-to-toe with someone just down the road is a rare one.
However, some 15,000 kilometres from Kilmaine in Mayo, two proud clubmen will be on the opposite side of the divide in Australia in an AFL game, in what is a truly unique moment.
Freddie Sheridan, a ten-year-old boy from the village, was born and raised in the West of Ireland up until 2022, before he and his family jetted off for Perth.
Since then, his love for Australian Football, and in particular the Fremantle Dockers, has grown steadily.
Thursday, June 18, will be a special day for young Sheridan, as he walks out side-by-side with his heroes in the 65,000 capacity Optus Stadium as a mascot for their upcoming AFL game.
There, he will be lining up on the opposite side of one of the men he watched toil the field in the green and red of his local GAA club and county.
Oisín Mullin has had an exceptional career in Gaelic games, securing a pair of Connacht titles as well as a 2020 All-Star to boot.
Since then, he has taken to this sport on the other side of the globe like a duck to water with Geelong.
When the Kilmaine natives meet in the grand Colusseum on the banks of Swan River, it will be a once in a blue moon moment.
However, from the moment the game kicks off at 11.10 am Irish Time, there will be little doubt as to what colours will be close to the Sheridan family’s chest.