Player gets injured in Derry junior championship, proceeds to change for a wedding on the bench

Maybe Mickey Harte was on to something when he described the modern footballer as a socialite Gaelic athlete.

We all know there are more important things in life than the GAA – well, we at least allow ourselves to know that for a few months of the year. Sometimes.

Try having the conversation with your underage coach though:

– Friends are more important.
– Your friends are here, son. Your friends are your team mates.

– Family is more important.
– Club is family.

– Life?
– This is living. This is what it’s all about.

– Listen, I have to go to a wedding, alright?
– I know I’d rather have a championship medal than memories of some piss-up.

That’d probably be followed by a tale of how he went to plenty of weddings himself – too many of them – and he regrets it now. He never got his championship medal. And now he’s in a position to tell you to do differently.

In Derry though, they’re rallying behind Mickey Harte’s words. They’re still athletes and they’re still socialites.

I'm away to photograph a few 'socialite Gaelic football athletes' playing their socialite hearts out for their clubs pic.twitter.com/v4oKlWqCm4

— Mary K Burke (@MKBurke1) August 4, 2016

Magilligan beat Doire Colmcille on Thursday night in a lovely summer’s evening at Owenbeg in the Junior Football Championship.

During the game, Colmcille man Richie Stewart had to come off injured. It worked out well though because he had a wedding to get back to.

So, rather than miss any of the action, he got back into his Sunday best on the bench and a helping hand from a patient friend and good, old technology made sure he looked his best.

Sean McErlean helps Richie Stewart fix his bowtie so he can return to a wedding after being injured in the Derry JFC pic.twitter.com/tYYFLoUwvP

— Chris McCann (@canntoya) August 4, 2016

It wasn’t even the moment of the night though.

At another stage, Magilligan forward Conor Canning took a nasty injury to the head and, in a show of true, classy sportsmanship, a member of the opposition was there to mind him.

@DColmcilleGAA keeper watches over his opponent Conor Canning of @MagilliganGAC during tonight's championship clash pic.twitter.com/tIcY7AX9Te

— Mary K Burke (@MKBurke1) August 4, 2016

The GAA hasn’t lost its soul. Far from it.

Rest easy, Mickey.

Dublin v Donegal and Mayo v Tyrone previewed in The GAA Hour with Colm Parkinson, Barry Cahill, and Michael Murphy. Subscribe here on iTunes. 

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10