MR & MRS SLIGO GET WED
SLIGO TAKES CENTRE STAGE AS MR & MRS SLIGO TIE THE KNOT
DURING 1999, The Sligo Champion printed an article with the headline ‘ Toby’s big night at the Showgrounds.’
It was a story about a nine- year- old boy from Essex who acted as mascot for a Sligo Rovers versus Finn Harps game. The reason this young lad received such attention was because of his random, yet somewhat understandable love for the Bit o’Red which all came down to his surname – Sligo.
As his father Roger pointed out: “How many nine- year olds have a team named after them?”
Fast forward 17 years and there is now a new Mr and Mrs Sligo, as Toby, now 27, recently married his long- term sweetheart, Anna.
Roger said: “Toby got married on October 22 to his girlfriend of ten years, Anna, now Mrs Anna Sligo. One of the special gifts he gave her to open before she left home for the church on the wedding day was a Sligo Rovers football top with the name “Sligo” printed on the back and the number “22” being the date of their wedding. Her mum Sharon gave it to her and she was so pleased.”
Toby also received a special gift – a watch with a map of the whole county on its face, from Enniscrone where the family stayed on their first visit and around Sligo Bay. Now, focus turns to making sure the Sligo name carries on through more generations.
Roger said: “Since their nine- year courtship started, Anna has been dying to take our Sligo name. Toby used to joke with her and say to me tongue- incheek, ‘ Do you think she is worthy to be a Sligo yet?’
“I am so pleased myself not only because she is such a lovely lady, but also because we are becoming extinct. No pressure but Toby could be our saviour if he produces a son.”
Roger added that his family was always aware of County Sligo and it was a lifelong dream of his father’s to visit which he did before his death in 1994.
William Sligo, who was a newspaper printer with the London Daily Mirror, even popped into the Champion offices on his first visit, and so began the publication’s relationship with the family.
“They wrote a small article on him called ‘ Mr Sligo Pops In’ which pleased him to no end. He died in 1994 and a couple of years later I made the same trip with my family.
“I had to try to top my dad so I also went with Toby who was young at the time and was a Sligo Rovers supporter and of course we came to the Sligo Champion office to ask for some Rovers pictures. We ended up doing our own photoshoot and Toby was invited back to be a mascot at the Showgrounds. He was presented with name keepsakes and made an honorary member of the club.”
Toby returned to the county twice more with his then girlfriend, now wife.
The couple got married at St. Laurence Church in Essex one year after their engagement. The reception took place in a large marquee in the garden of Anna’s parent’s home in Shoeburyness, Essex and they honeymooned in the Peak District in the north of England.
Their love affair with the county of Sligo continues.