“Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years finds, and shall find me, unafraid…”
There’s something almost poetic about Castlebar Mitchels.
For a side to go so far, to dream so big, to get so close and then lose an All-Ireland final and not win their county the following year, it takes courage to come back from that. It takes balls.
It would have been the easiest thing in the world for the Mayo men to give up and accept their lot.
After 20 years of famine, Castlebar rose again. The west county was theirs, the west province was theirs and they dared to go where no Castlebar side has ever gone before; where just two Mayo teams have managed to go.
They dared to dream.
But those dreams were dashed.
So you go back to Mayo, you dust yourself off, and without even a month’s rest, you start a brand new season. After 12 months of slogging it out, chasing the impossible, and falling short, you’re welcomed back into one of the most competitive counties in the land and it is as hostile as ever.
It is as tough as ever.
Ballintubber steal your glory, a Galway enemy reaches the promised land you couldn’t but, somewhere in the Mayo capital, the Mitchel’s aren’t feeling sorry for themselves, they aren’t hiding and they certainly are not shrinking. They’re not even thinking about it.
Instead, they’re preparing to rise again.
If Crossmaglen’s is a story of a club, and a machine, who believed they could be the best and became more than that, Castlebar’s is a story of defiance. It is one of pure grit and no relent. Never giving up.
You see, Castlebar are more than a sum of their parts. They’re more than the talent lining through the squad. They’re more than the unprecedented season Barry Moran is having around the middle of the park.
How a side can dominate one of the toughest county championships in Ireland and still likely have only Tom Cunniffe as a guaranteed starter on the Mayo 15 is unheard of.
Because Castlebar are a team. They’re banging in goals for fun in coordinated, swashbuckling attacks. They’re kicking the ball even better than Corofin did last year. They’re outscoring All-Ireland champions and they’re back in the last four of the AIB GAA All-Ireland series with a shot of marching in to Croke Park again.
And they’re there because they refused to go away.
They’ve had their moment in the sun. They’ve won their championship. Fair play to them… That’s what they said about Castlebar Mitchels.
Two seasons later, here we are again. Another two championships, another moment in the sun. Another shot at glory.
Two seasons later, Mitchels are dreaming again.
And they could beat Crossmaglen, you know. They could.
Whatever happens, the men from Ulster are in for the fight of their lives because Castlebar won’t be going down easy. They won’t be giving up.
And, whatever happens, Castlebar will be back again. Undeterred. Unbowed.
“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”
Brought to you by AIB GAA, proudly backing Club & County. Follow AIB GAA on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
