Sad passings puts sporting success into perspective

Date Published: {J}

IT was a strange and mostly humbling weekend, the type of one which should always keep you guarded about getting too far ahead of yourself. Some highs and lows; major disappointment mixed with great joy; but most of all a terrible sense of sadness over the passing of two relatively young men with a strong GAA association in the parish of Clarinbridge.

Over six weeks ago, I had a phone call from Sheila Forde who was wondering would it be alright for her son Eoin to not attend that particularly night’s training session with the Galway hurlers. The family had bad news about the health of her husband Johnny confirmed and she wanted Eoin home in Clarinbridge with them.

Sheila was virtually apologising for her intervention and hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. I naturally reassured her that there had been no need whatsoever to explain in such difficult circumstances and wished her and the Forde family well. Sheila is also bravely fighting her own health battle and I felt completely humbled by our conversation. I thought to myself what a remarkable woman.

Sadly, Johnny Forde passed away last Friday morning just a short time before his neighbour, Raymond Geraghty, was also taken from this life. Both men were in their early fifties and had succumbed to cancer. Understandably, Clarinbridge has been a very sad place over these past few days and it was just last March when the parish was beside itself with joy after an historic All-Ireland Club title triumph.

I had spent four years coaching Clarinbridge in the past and would have got to know many of the people of the parish during that time. I remember well Johnny Forde’s two brothers, Val and Boaco, who were mighty supporters. Sympathising with Val on Sunday evening, he was anxious to congratulate me on the success of the Galway hurlers the previous day.

You’d feel awkward in one sense, but content in another that the victory over Cork had given the Forde and Geraghty families a little lift. We had spoken about Eoin Forde before the match and encouraged the players to remember him when the going would get tough in the Gaelic Grounds. Eoin is in the army now and it has helped him to mature. He had asked me to tell the players to “drive on” when we spoke a few hours after his dad’s passing. He meant it from the heart too.

I am not sure where this column is going, but the happenings of the weekend just illustrates once again that joy and grief are never too far away from each other. I keep thinking of Sheila Forde and that phone call. There are many people I am not fit to their lace their boots for many different reasons . . . and she is definitely one of them.

The evening before the Galway hurlers qualifier match against Cork, I was at the the Renmore GAA grounds, watching a West Board junior football league game of all things. My son Eanna was playing corner back for St. James’ against Killanin and I wanted to offer some moral support. Galway footballer and local hero Johnny Duane was also at the match and we wished each other luck in our respective championship games the following day. Johnny is a rock solid young man and was a key member of the county U-21 footballers who had swept to All-Ireland glory earlier in the year.

Travelling from Gort to Galway on our way back from Limerick on Saturday evening, those of remaining on the team coach were now glued to the radio and coverage of the footballers’ tussle with Meath in Navan. By all accounts, it wasn’t a great game but Galway’s re-arranged forces were fighting for their reputations and putting it up to the home team.

The hurlers had just had their post-match dinner in the Lady Gregory Hotel and when tuning into the footballers’ game, they were trailing by 0-8 by 0-6, but Meath were getting edgy as a string of missed chances was fuelling the anxiety of the huge home support. We were listening intently, hoping that Galway would turn it around and make it a double celebration.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.