Ballaghaderreen eagerly awaits All-Ireland final day

The excitement and tension building in Ballaghaderreen are arguably louder than the on-going construction works at The Square, as the town eagerly awaits this Sunday’s All-Ireland.

The town will be strongly represented in Croke Park, with Andy Moran at the helm of the team, and Kuba Callaghan and David McBrien on the panel.

As someone from the nearby Lisacul, it is with begrudging respect I’ll have to watch on as my perspective is strongly influenced by historical boundary debates!

Nonetheless my own club, Éire Óg, is very grateful to Ballaghaderreen GAA who have been very hospitable to us with their pitch and facilities as James Timothy Park is redeveloped.

One member of the Ballagh senior panel who’ll be supporting his clubmates proudly from Hill 16 is Lee McGowan.

When the Herald spoke to him, Lee was helping his mother, Jeannie, tidy up their coffee truck, which is a regular fixture in the town. Outside of football it is exciting times for ‘Genie’s Coffee’ as the business is set to move into a premises beside Duffy’s SuperValu on Thursday.

Looking ahead to the game, Lee said: “I’m buzzing for it now, it’s a big chance for Mayo,” and he was able to provide some good insight into the Ballaghaderreen representation.

As it happened, David McBrien picked up a coffee earlier in the day, and he didn’t show any signs of nerves ahead of the biggest game in his career.

“Mackie was here today, you wouldn’t make that man nervous, Kuba would be the same - they’re both very calm,” he explained.

Having being a recipient of Moran’s training coming up through the age grades, Lee described his style: “He’s very positive, always smiling, always talking – you’d hear him a mile away.” 

The sentiment at Towey’s Spar throughout the week has been “reserved”, according to owner Pat Towey.

Pat is a lifelong supporter of Mayo and is all too familiar with the fallout from previous finals.

“It’s good that the town is well decorated, but we’ve been in the space so many times before and you don’t want to get your hopes up. People coming into the shop in general are hoping David McBrien will do well, Andy does well and that it won’t be all about Kerry,” he outlined.

There has been largely bi-partisan support for Mayo in Pat’s shop ahead of the final, and he believed a Mayo win could represent a lift for the whole country.

As I walked into Seánie Mac’s barbershop, and as is so often the case, a football congress was in session with representatives from Roscommon, Mayo and Sligo.

Roscommon and Western Gaels legend Seánie McDermott was in the process of cutting the hair of Pádraig Duffy from Gurteen.

He noticed a similar feeling to that of Pat Towey’s customers. “I must say there’s not a lot of hype, people are kind of anxious because Kerry are mad favourites. People are kind of going up more in hope – but that might be a good thing.” 

The improvements that Mayo have made since their ten point defeat to Roscommon was highlighted by the Western Gaels player, and he gave credit to his footballing contemporary Moran for that change.

He predicted Kerry to win by three or four points but added: “If Mayo are in the game going down the Hogan Stand at half time, and can bring the game tight, down the stretch, with 10 minutes to go, who knows?” 

From the barber’s chair, Pádraig predicted a slightly larger winning margin of five or six points for Kerry but pointed out that Gurteen would be delighted to see a Mayo win.

“The whole of the West are hoping they can bring it back. It hasn’t been back since Galway so it’s been a long time coming.” 

Timing his haircut to perfection, Kerry native Eoin Buckley arrived to the congress.

The Beale man, who has lived in the town for many years, will be in the Cusack Stand on Sunday and backed Jack O’Connor to do the business.

“I’m quietly confident. We don’t like to get overly confident, there’s no hype train down there.” 

Finally, I returned to my former place of employment, Regan’s Butchers to get the thoughts of my old boss Paul Webb.

As a Ballyhaunis club man through and through, it is a particularly proud day for Paul to see Jack Coyne lead the Mayo team out on Sunday.

“I coached Jack since he was knee high. He’s a great guy and I’m very happy for him and his family. It’s a proud day for Ballyhaunis,” said Paul.

Playing against the breeze into Hill 16 in the first half was imperative for Paul, and while he acknowledged the great work Andy Moran has done with Mayo, he felt it may be too early for this Mayo side to capture All-Ireland glory.

He outlined: “We’re playing a team that’s probably the best since the Dublin six-in-a row. We’ll be putting out fires basically and I can’t see our midfield competing for the whole game.”