Legacy.
When all is said and done, it’s all anyone can hope to leave behind.
Aaron Devlin has left an everlasting legacy in Ballinderry.
A young man with a smile as bright as his talent. A family man with wit as sharp as his turn. A friend as loyal as his commitment to the Shamrocks.
‘Dook’, as they call him, was taken far too soon from this earth. In July last year, his sudden passing after a severe bout of meningitis rocked the whole of the GAA world and it left a void on Derry’s loughshore that would never be filled.
But Aaron Devlin will live on forever in the hearts and minds of Ballinderry Gaels.
The moments clapping in @CrokePark for Aaron Devlin has just brought tears to everyone in @BallinderryGAC @Doiregaa @UlsterGAA #Azzatribute
— Stephen McGeehan (@mcgeehanstephen) August 1, 2015
Tomorrow's Derry Post pays tribute to Aaron Devlin and how he enriched the lives of others, on and off the pitch pic.twitter.com/ElpzLCFOaw
— Cahair O'Kane (@CahairOKane1) August 3, 2015
And, in a fitting tribute to a wing forward who’d spread you on toast given half the chance, the club have named their new 4G pitch after him and erected a wall in his honour.
On it, an iconic image from the 2012 Derry final that will inspire the next generation and serve as a bond between Dook and the club that loved him so well.
GAA club paints mural in memory of Aaron Devlin in today's @irish_news https://t.co/aOJIWqKJKR pic.twitter.com/rqsMQOgOCV
— Connla Young (@ConnlaYoung) August 3, 2016
Love this, well done @BallinderryGAC – special tribute. pic.twitter.com/dgF689MGXY
— Brendan McTaggart (@bmct123) August 3, 2016
Tomorrow, life goes on at Shamrock Park. But it’s only right that it goes on under the watchful eye and the affable presence of a legend.
It’s only right that the footballers of tomorrow learn their trade on the Aaron Devlin Pitch.
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