Column: Home is where the heart is

THERE is magic in victory but there is just something about a pipe band at a homecoming that makes it all very official.

I had goosebumps as I watched Mid West Radio’s footage of Sam Maguire being carried across the bridge and into Achill Island this week.

The sound of pipes. The beating of drums in unison. Green and red blowing with the breeze. Throngs of people. And the glistening of Sam, held aloft. Years of hurt and emptiness are history now.

It was the same feeling when I looked at the photos of the coveted cup being carried up Croagh Patrick. A final pilgrimage of sorts.

This is when sport is about more than sport. So much more. These scenes are about the people of Mayo – both home and abroad.

Yes, Ryan O’Donoghue, Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne were on the front line of Andy Moran’s army, but everyone has their chests pumped out.

When Jack Coyne urged the people of Mayo to be proud of where they hail from, he tapped into his inner Connor Carville.

After hosting the Andy Merrigan Cup aloft, the Glen skipper urged everyone attached to the club to push out their chests and be proud to be a Watty.

I wonder if Carville copyrighted his speech but the people of Mayo won’t care one jot either way.

Back to the pipes. I was in Ballinderry on the night skipper Adrian McGuckin carried the same cup across the bridge. You had to be there.

The players later broke into a verse of It’s a Long Way to Tipperary. It signified their trek from Thurles. where the game was played due to the Croke Park redevelopment.

When Glenullin returned as Ulster Intermediate champions last winter, they made sure to stop off to visit club stalwart Breda O’Kane, who has since deceased. She deserved a photo with the cup like everyone else.

It was the same when Sleacht Néill came home with the Seamus McFerran Cup. – the bus stopped off to visit the housebound Brian Bradley. His nephews never forgot their roots. Brian has since passed away but the photo of them seated around him as he held the cup will last forever.

The footage of Mayo taking their fruits of summer to Achill Island reminded me so much of what the GAA is all about during a week when another swathe of club teams will begin their championship odyssey.

One of my favourite parts of being a reporter is visiting homecomings. To me, it’s the doorway into what sports are really about.

When I worked in the County Derry Post, photographer Mary K Burke gave me my first lesson.

When planning championship finals’ coverage, we needed to factor in plenty of “happy, happy photos”, as she called them. Basically, players, the cup, their families and whatever else her photographer’s instinct would snap up.

Sleacht Néill captain Francis McEldowney and his cousins in the squad brought the Seamus McFerran Cup to their uncle Brian on their way back from winning Ulster

Going to a homecoming is on another level. I was privileged to have been there when my brother was part of Ulster Championship-winning Sleacht Néill teams. The smile on my parents’ faces in a packed hall spoke volumes.

A look around and everyone was the same. For those moments, time stood still. Years of driving kids to training and games was cashed in. This was top of the mountain stuff.

I saw it in Magherafelt, Glen, Glenullin and Newbridge in recent years too. It’s that sheer pride that is almost impossible to encapsulate in words.

It’s the sort of thing you’d want every community to experience at least once. These are the moments that will help inspire more golden days.

When Peter McDonnell managed Mullaghbawn to Armagh and Ulster titles, he referenced how the players were the chosen ones. They had the responsibility to represent their community in the front line of battle.

In the days after a county final, social media is always awash with footage of celebration.

The blue Creagh Concrete lorry is synonymous with Dunloy bringing home the bacon.

When Glen won the All-Ireland, Conor Glass was wearing a yellow Tour de France jersey. The significance of it was derived from a chapter of Malachy O’Rourke’s gospel.

The Derry championship was stage one, Ulster the second, but they’d made it all the way to the victory march.

Stage Three was now complete and Glass was dressed in yellow on the back of Pearse McCallan’s lorry, on Maghera’s version of the Champs-Élysées.

I even recall an amazing video from a Galbally homecoming with Philomena Begley belting out her classic version of Blanket the Ground.

The funny part was someone holding a photo, presumably taken off the pub wall, and hosting it mid-song. Iconic.

When Errigal Ciaran celebrated their recent Ulster success, Peter Óg McCartan, scorer of the winning point, joked that he was “third Canavan” son in a homecoming speech.

When you think of championship wins, they all flood back. As I stood in the middle of Healy Park last autumn, Loughmacrory had just done something they’d never done before – won the O’Neill Cup.

Beside me were two elderly fans. As they hugged each other, they were reduced to tears. Sport mattered more than anything.

“Can you believe we’ve actually won it,” one bellowed before they embraced like they’d never see each other again.

For all the training and preparation, the quirkiness, warmth and emotion we witness in the days after a success tell us the full story of why sport is important.

The medals will be stuck away in a drawer. A mother might have them tucked away with the scrap books. Some players might not even look at them again.

When we scratch the surface, there is so much more to winning and everyone has their own story.

I am looking forward to seeing what twists and turns we’ll witness in the months ahead. This week’s scenes on Achill Island certainly whet the appetite.