CONNACHTSENIORCHAMPIONSHIP
IT BEING Connacht GAA Senior Football Championship week, usually an evocative time for any True Gael worth his or her low-sodium salt, I returned to the familiar GAA well marked ‘enthusement’. But the well had run dry.
In fact, aside from dipping into the magic of American composer Jerry Goldsmith, who penned the scores for numerous films and TV shows, the week’s highlight was discovering on YouTube an acoustic cover version of the classic Alice in Chains song ‘Them Bones’ by Post Malone. I must have listened and relistened to this piece of aural art at least 53 times.
And still no thoughts towards the impending provincial quarter-final between Sligo and Leitrim at Carrickon-Shannon’s Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.
Finally, in desperation, I believed that by heading to the hallowed venue earlier than everyone else last Sunday I would find inspiration either during
RESULTS
Played on Saturday, April 6 QUARTER-FINAL: London 0-9, Galway 5-21
Played on Sunday, April 7 QUARTER-FINALS: Leitrim 0-6, Sligo 0-15; New York 2-6, 2-21
FIXTURES
Saturday, April 20
the straightforward drive to Leitrim’s biggest town or the lengthy wait in the car park.
En route I foolishly proposed that Sligo would win by a point after an epic struggle – not knowing that one point would be the sum of Leitrim’s first-half total – while Gavin Cawley, a regular roadtrip companion, suggested that Sligo’s winning margin would be 10 points. He must have had a bet on.
In those time killing hours prior to throw-in – we were there before
SEMI-FINAL: Sligo v Galway (3.30pm)* *Venue to be confirmed.
Sunday, April 21
SEMI-FINAL: Roscommon v Mayo (Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon, 4pm)
Sunday, May 5 the matchday stewards arrived – I wondered how Leitrim fans must have been feeling.
Just a week or so on from their disappointing Croke Park date against Laois, a 3-14 to 0-9 loss, they had to get themselves geared up for a battle with the neighbours and to make Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada the sort of fortress that has caught out bigger opponents than Sligo.
The game itself was a non-event. The fiercest thing about Leitrim was the breeze, the remants of Storm
Kathleen, as Sligo kicked 15 points and also 15 wides.
Such was the lack of atmosphere and bite that a running joke in the press box was how many custard creams were remaining after a certain Sligo journalist (Gavin Cawley) visited the media tea room.
Indeed, in between marking down Sligo’s flow of points, as well as noting Canice Mulligan’s impressive Connacht Senior Football Championship debut, there was time to watch the quality of United’s goals