Sam Maguire makes surprise appearance at popular Galway pub
A crowd of Mayo people flocked to the pub as word spread about the famous cup sitting on a chair inside
It is very rare I make myself the subject of a story I am writing but on this occasion I will make an exception and break the rule.
That’s because when I got wind on Thursday night that Sam Maguire was sitting on a chair by itself in Ward’s pub on Salthill road, I knew the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I had on my hands.
I had already been lucky enough to get a touch of the cup at Mayo Gaels GAA pitch a month after the mighty men from Mayo did the unthinkable and what some thought would remain unachievable forever.
It was only a brief encounter I had with this metal bowl then, the same one Mayo people had dreamt about touching for over seven decades, and I promised myself if the chance came up to hold it again, nothing would get in my way.
Despite living in Galway, it was my mother of all people 80km away in my small home village of Croaghrim, just outside of Killawalla, who informed me that Sam was sitting idle in between two chairs inside former Mayo player Anthony Finnerty’s pub.
I called my good friend John Morley, Galway Talks radio presenter with Galway Bay FM and fellow Mayo-mad supporter to tell him I was on the way and to start making his way down to guard Sam incase he had any signs of going on a pub crawl.
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Thankfully he didn’t, and instead a crowd of Mayo locals got to spend some quality time with him while the Louth semi-final and the final against Kerry were shown on several televisions across the pub.
The pints were flowing with Anthony himself putting a shift in behind the bar alongside three other barmen. Half-time during the Kerry showing, platters of food were being fired out on the house as people knuckled down to watch the final 35 minutes reminding themselves of what life was like before their world changed for them forever.
It will never get old.
I was on the zeros myself as such was the rush to get in to see Sammy that the option of getting the bus didn’t even cross my mind.
Maybe it’s a sign of getting old but as the Christmas Day college goers braved the brisk November night queuing for bars, I was very content inside the snug and warm pub catching up with a new metal friend who I already felt I had known for several years.