Dazed and Confused

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Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose.
The long wait for Sam continues, as despair grips the County....once again.

It was 46hours from when I started the odyssey from Sydney to when I finally got into my bed in Mayo..and true to form, the only delay I had of the whole trip was outside Knockroghery courtesy of CIE...finally back to "Irish Time"!

The buildup for the match at home had been muted, but there was a feeling that, maybe, just MAYBE, 2006 would exorcise the demons, and so to the background tunes of "To Win Just Once" and "The Green and Red of Mayo", once again the hopeful Mayo supporters packed up the ham sandwiches and flasks of tea to head up to the big city. Some of us came further than others, and between me coming home from Sydney, and my uncle being helicoptered to Croke Park from the sandbanks of Doohoma, let it not be said that the Barrett clan didn't "keep the faith"

Sadly, the dream was not to be, and the less said about the spectacle that unfolded during those 70 minutes, the better.
Distraught, it has come to the stage that we have run out of words to describe the feelings of disappointment suffered by the Mayo faithful, and so it was with heavy hearts that we returned west for another year, with only the billboard ads claiming "September starts in October" to lift the spirits, and hope for a successful 2007 campaign.

Apart from the disaster that was Sunday the 17th, the rest of my "holiday from a holiday" proved to be fantastic. Reunited with friends and family, nights out on the town, an unexpected kitesurfing event on Bull Island (which was more impressive than any surfing efforts witnessed in Oz to date!) and a brief interlude with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (!) made the trip home a worthwhile adventure.

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Photos

Dawn on the horizon.
...somewhere around Hamburg on the plane home from Sydney

Geesala NS
..me back at the alma mater..

Ladies Night
Ann, Me & Paula

Family Reunion
Me with brother Edmond

Barrett Clan
Pre-match gathering of the Barrett ladies at Fagans

My cousin..the Outcast!
Richie and Michael..all friends before throw-in

Bertie called by to say Hello..
...on his way for a pint of Bass!

Inside Croke Park
Attendence 82,289

Parade..
..as close as the Mayo boys got to Kerry all day

Scoreboard..
..as good as it got for Mayo for the 70 minutes

Comments

[Daithi]

unreal
Sniff sniff. Another bad day at the office, as my poor dad said. Meeting Bertie made up for it I'm sure! The pics at Geesala NS are just so precious. Great article :-)

[Paula]

That is some YELLOW top!!!!!!!

[Niall]

Sympathies
Rachel, My condolences and deepest deepest sympathies on your ill-advised trip home for the sad and depressing spectacle (for Mayo people) that was Kerry's 34th Senior All-Ireland Title. Alas Mayo played their final against Dublin. Maybe next year for ye, but its a BIG maybe. Ciarrai Abu, An Riocht

[RTW2006]

Re: Sympathies
Thanks Niall for your touching words, although a bit harsh to call the trip "ill-advised".....one must keep the faith with the team through thick n' thin, and we'll be back with our hats, flags n' headbands next year again! Still, Tadhg Kennelly of the Sydney Swans also had some nice words to say when I met him (keep an eye out for the Sydney blog entry soon for some pictures!), so the pain is beginning to ease!

[Paula]

Just keep talking Rachel.....I'll have the last laugh!!!