‘Lá na gClubanna Match a Wonderful Carnival Occasion’

After the young girls and boys finished their play, had their pizza and received their medals, it was the turn of the young and young-at-heart to take centre-stage (someone suggested that the under-age football was followed by an over-age version but that was unkind). Originally it was intended to stage a mixed match between the present-day adult male and female players but as the day progressed it evolved and took on a very different format and became a mixed match in the broadest possible manner and featured players from the 1980s to members of our present day under-sixteen teams as well as eight of our ladies senior team. In doing so it became a wonderful carnival of present day greats, former greats and wannabee greats and included men and women who had served Shamrocks on and off the field and brought honour and glory to both Shamrocks, Westmeath (as well as Athlone, Meath, Erin’s Isle and Dublin) and their country in the Compromise Rules internationals against Australia.  The presence of the Mullingar Town Band added a special flavour to the day and the pre-match parade which involved all those, young and old who played football on the day (some from both groups found the short march difficult), will remain in the memory for a long time.

The match gave an opportunity to many of the legendary Shamrocks players of the 1980s and 1990s to show what made them such a special bunch. Tom Ormsby, Ned Moore, Pearse Corroon, Spike Fagan, Eddie Casey, Paul Aherne, John Doran were there as were Micheál Burke, Brian Lambden, Shane Colleary, Ritchie Daly, Barry Maguire, Dermot Curley, Lisa Burke, Emma Morris, Paul Aherne, Karen Hegarty, Athlone’s Ollie Keating and Robbie Boyle (Erin’s Isle and Dublin) as well as many of our current players including Denis Corroon, Aaron Purcell, Killian Daly, and Kieran Gavin (who was one of four Shamrocks senior title winning captains playing) took to the field. Bernard and Billy Flynn lined out on the same field for the first (and most likely last time!) so too did Pearse and Ross Corroon. The quote of the day might well have been Bernard’s. ‘Come in here Billy for a photo with me because some day in the future you will be as bad as I was today’!  We were honoured to have Barry Kelly refereeing and the ‘Killer’ who made some very important contributors to the 1986-2000 years of success made a guest appearance. We will hardly ever see the like of it again. Nobody thought of keeping the score which was fitting for the occasion. It was Go-Games for the big boys and girls!