There’s something magic going on in Multyfarnham this year.
A small, rural village on the outskirts of Mullingar. There are only 500 people living in Multyfarnham.
They’ve never been overly successful in gaelic football. ‘Multy’ have been a junior club since the 1960s. Before this year, last time they won a Westmeath junior championship was in 1956.
They’ve suffered heartbreak in recent years. In year’s past. They were the whipping boys of Westmeath football for so long.
“Losing matches by 30 points by 40 points,” recalls the team’s centre back Ronan Wallace.
He’s only 22, but he’s familiar with the struggles. He’s also familiar with the community spirit that lines this club. That defines it. That changed it.
“But some lads in this club, the work they’ve done with the underage structures over the last few years – it’s been absolutely incredible and that’s really stood to us.
“It’s one of the best underage systems I’ve ever seen. The work that goes in, it’s unbelievable. There are teams going from under-5s and sixes to junior. They’re getting solid numbers, like 20s and 30s there. It’s unreal for a rural area. A lot of it is to do with the parents and other lads from Multy, they have the best interests of the club at heart.
Multyfarnham is a proud little place. A tight-knit community, and this year more than ever, they’ve had reason to be proud of their little place with a big heart.
61 years on from that 1956 triumph, the men in maroon brought home the county championship again.
What an incredible story @MultyGAAhttps://t.co/PzMRA8m9ou
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) November 20, 2017
They played like they were waiting 61 years. They pushed the final to a replay after trailing rivals Ballynacargy by 8 points after only 15 minutes of the drawn game. They won the replay by 6 points.
The scenes in Westmeath on that Sunday night were like nothing the village ever seen before. They celebrated like they were 56 years waiting, soaking it all in on the back of a Dessie Greene’s lorry.
Dessie’s son Jimmy plays full back on the team.
A lorry they’re planning on bringing to Croke Park on Saturday.
As we said, there’s something magic going on in Multyfarnham this year.
The celebrations went on until Tuesday, Wednesday and even Thursday for some. Then they were back training. Then they were into the uncharted territory of a Leinster championship.
The shackles were off. This young team – 12 of the starting 15 are only 25 – went down to Wicklow and won, went down to Wexford and won in successive weekends.
They went onto win the Leinster championship when they defeated the Offaly champions, Erin Rovers.
The underdogs did it again in the All-Ireland semi-final two weekends ago when they defeated John Maughan’s Lahardane MacHales against all the odds in Dr. Hyde Park.
And Wallace and all of his teammates have been lapping it up.
“It’s been a great road. At the start of the year, we just set out to win the Westmeath title – that was our main goal. If you told us then we were going to be in an All-Ireland final in February, we wouldn’t have known what to think of it.
Best of luck to @MultyGAA in Saturday's All Ireland Final from everyone here on Garrycastle Gaa Club
— Garrycastle GAA (@gaagarrycastle) February 2, 2018
“We lost county finals in 2014, 2015 and a semi in 2016. Like that was so much heartbreak, and finally, we got over the line this year. That drove us on. Lads are a lot older now and more experienced and our young lads are standing up this year and that’s what’s got us this far.
“We just keep working, the tight games are standing to us, like. In the Lahardane game, we were down by four points, we went up by four, it came back to a draw game. It was crazy stuff, and we kicked on in injury time.
On Saturday, Multy will take to Croke Park for an All-Ireland final. Only one of their players has played in Croke Park before. That’s Daniel Loughrey who played in a Cumman na mBunscoil game many moons ago, according to the the team’s centre back, Ronan Wallace, who was speaking to us in GAA HQ recently.
“None of us have played in Croke Park before, except for our centre forward Danny Loughrey, he played a Cummann na mBunscoil game at half-time of a Leinster Championsip match. It’ll be great, that atmosphere, but when the whistle goes, it’ll be like any other game for us.
And the whole of Westmeath is behind them.
Well done @MultyGAA on winning the Leinster championship! Enjoy the celebrations 🚛 🍾🍻#GAA
— John Heslin (@jheslin14) November 18, 2017
“The support from other clubs in Westmeath has been amazing. Some of them have buses organised, like these are clubs outside of Multyfarnham. Everyone’s giving all their support in Westmeath and we couldn’t ask for more. Hopefully that’ll stand to us.
And yes, they’re planning on bringing that lorry all the way to Croker.
“There are only about 500 people in the village. Everyone knows each other, the buzz around the village when we won the junior was unbelievable, we all came into the village on the back of this machine, this big truck type of a thing, and we brought it to Hyde Park for the semi-final last weekend too, so we’ll have that on the go now up in Croker too on Saturday.
GAA clubs, at the heart of Communities across Ireland. 8 clubs will contest finals in Croke Park this weekend. Passion, Pride, Fun & Four great finals.
You don't choose your club,, it chooses you!#TheToughest pic.twitter.com/5J4UPhH1wq— Aogán Ó Fearghail (@aoganofearghail) February 2, 2018
“Dessie Greene will be trying his best to bring it up to Croker, I don’t know if he’ll be able to fit it in but we’ll have it in Mullingar anyway when we come back.”
Opposition Knocknagree better be ready.
