Freeman’s surfing the Mayo wave of optimism
CATHAL FREEMAN has the chance to win an All-Ireland medal tomorrow. Back in April the Mayo hurler was winning hearts and minds by raising money for the Irish Cancer Society, and for vital personal protective equipment for frontline HSE staff. He committed to running a full 42km lockdown marathon in his back garden while soloing a sliotar — this despite never having run a distance greater 10km in a single session. A live stream on the Mayo GAA Facebook page helped drive the fundraiser and saw him finish with a total of €60,000, three times his original target. Safe to say, his route to Croke Park from a patch of grass adjoining his residence in Limerick, where he is studying medicine, is of the road-less-travelled variety. This week, he was part of a GAA-sponsored conference call to promote the final of the Nicky Rackard Cup, where Mayo take on Donegal — two counties with proud football heritage showing that they can hurl, too. Freeman himself flirted with the Mayo senior football team back in 2013 when they were contending for an All-Ireland title and could be found swinging over points alongside Aidan O’Shea in the 2008 minor final against Tyrone. Right now, he knows the hurlers are surfing the mood of optimism and confidence that comes from the footballers knocking Galway out of the Championship and winning a first Connacht title in five years in the process. So does he have a sense then of the stars aligning for Mayo GAA in this year of years, of no supporters and games played behind closed doors? ‘Yeah, it would be the most Mayo thing in the world if we managed to pull it out of the bag in football this year. To be fair, James Horan has always said we’ll win it when we’re the best team. And for a number of reasons we haven’t been the best team over the last 10 years. But that team that’s coming now, the mix of the likes of Aido (O’Shea), Lee (Keegan), and Chris Barrett, along with the younger lads, they have a fantastic opportunity. ‘Now, I’m sure whoever comes out of Munster, Dessie (Farrell) and Dublin, the Donegal boys, will all have something to say about that. But they do have a serious opportunity. If it does happen, it won’t be by fluke. ‘No more than for the reasons we didn’t win it previous because we weren’t the best team, if we do win it it will be because we’re the best team.’ This weekend though is about the Mayo hurlers, who have a chance to lift the Nickey Rackard Cup, the trophy for hurling’s fourth-tier competition. Back in 2016, they won a nailbiting decider at Croke Park against Armagh. When Armagh mounted a late push to try and win the game, it was Cathal Freeman and multiple All-Star footballer and dual player Keith Higgins who really helped Mayo find another gear. ‘That was a great day,’ he admits. ‘I don’t imagine it will be quite as warm as when we played Armagh there. Armagh were a fantastic team, no more than Donegal. We had to fight tooth and nail to get the result that day. It’s something we’ll always look back on fondly. ‘We’ve had a number of very, very tight games against Donegal over the years so we’re very aware of what they’ll bring to it. Danny Cullen is as fine a hurler as you’ll see in the country. I’ve come across him in the shinty, international rules, and he stands out always. He’s someone to keep an eye out for. Gerard Gilmore made the GAA Team of the Week last week so he’ll be someone as well. It will be a very tight game.’ He’s wary, too, of the bit of local knowledge that Donegal will be able to tap into.
‘We also have to be aware that Donegal have some significant advantages coming into the game with us, because one of my own clubmates, Ciaran Finn, plays with Donegal. ‘There’s a number of the Tooreen lads involved with Mayo and Ciaran would have a great knowledge of all the hurlers in Mayo, so they’ll have a significant advantage in terms of having an insight into us, so we’ve had to work extra hard to ensure we know as much about them as well.’ As for that ‘Garden Hurling Marathon’ back in lockdown? He never expected such a reaction. And with this Level 5 version of lockdown, he feels ‘privileged’ that Gaelic games and the championships were given the go-ahead to proceed. ‘Yeah, it’s been a mad year, everyone has had to adapt and change how they approach things and find new ways of keeping themselves entertained and happy. ‘From a hurling perspective, the fact that we have these games has been a huge personal release for myself and for all the team. ‘Amongst the team we’re constantly talking about how lucky we are to be in the position that we’re in, to have training to go to, to have games playing, to have something to talk about that isn’t coronavirus or vaccines or lockdowns or no pubs. We’re incredibly privileged people.’
“Games have been a huge release for me”