Aileen Gilroy was so close to getting to Croke Park with Mayo Ladies. Then Sinéad Aherne nailed a late, late free and Dublin marched on.
Mayo missed out and so did Gilroy, their vice-captain.
She scored two first half points but was sin-binned in the second half and had to watch on as Dublin got right back into their taut contest. Gilroy was back on for that agonising Aherne score and sunk to the turf as her dreams – and those of her teammates – were shattered.
Gilroy has been down before but she has always picked herself back up. Now she has another goal in mind – to cheer on the Mayo men as they take on Dublin for that elusive Sam Maguire.
One Monday night, six days out from the final, Gilroy took to Facebook – as so many from across Mayo and Dublin have – to put the word out.
She needs a ticket:
‘If anyone at all out there knows where I can an All-Ireland [ticket], please let me know. Been to every game in Croker this year and, of course, can’t get one for the big day.’
Among the many messages of support, Jennifer Murphy, one of Gilroy’s friends put this together:
Jennifer also contacted SportsJOE and argued the merits of Aileen Gilroy getting to Sunday’s big game.
We contacted Mayo GAA to ask if members of the Ladies football team are eligible for senior men’s match tickets but are awaiting a response.
There is something ever so tragic about a fine footballer, a dedicated servant to the county cause, and a die-hard Mayo GAA fan having to go down the same hopeful road as the thousands that missed out on getting those golden tickets.
Let’s hope Aileen Gilroy can get to Croke Park on Sunday to cheer her counterparts on. God knows she deserves it.
UPDATE: Aileen was kindly offered a ticket for the final by an extremely kind GAA fan from Claremorris, Mayo. However, she won an online competition for a ticket so both herself and that selfless fan will be going to Croker to cheer Mayo on. Aileen thanks everybody for their kind words and offers.
Stephen Rochford chats with Colm Parkinson on The GAA Hour, heated Lee Keegan debate, and Barry Cahill is outnumbered by Mayo backers. Subscribe here on iTunes.
