As Division Four league matches go, this is as momentous as they come.
Cathal Joyce is a modern-day, real-life hero. He’s a man of steel. He’s an Irish person we can all look up to.
Just over six months ago, the Athlone GAA player collapsed in Mullingar during the Westmeath intermediate football championship semi-final against Rosemount.
He had suffered a cardiac arrest and required shocks from the on-site debrillator as he was revived on the field and, when his club went on to win the championship, Joyce was named on the bench for Athlone so he could receive a medal if they did lift the cup.
healthy for the final. My 2trophies #winning #athlonegaa @JOEdotie @MidlandsSport @AntonSavageShow @todayfm pic.twitter.com/a2SAIDxzqr
— Cathal Joyce (@cathaljoyce) October 4, 2015
On Sunday though, Joyce came back.
He pulled on the Athlone jersey again, he laced up the boots again, and he took to the field again in an incredible story of will.
He didn’t just put September behind him or the six and a bit months of struggle and fight he had to endure after that. He lined out against Castletown-Finea Coole/Whitehall and he bagged 2-2 for himself too.
He put it all behind him and he looked ahead again.
Athlone lost the game but that was far from the real story.
The story here was a man who refused to bow his head and be dictated to by circumstance. The story here is a man who has fought against odds and chance and even medicine to come back from a life-saving defib procedure after just over six months.
The story here is a young man who will spend the rest of his life a winner. The story here is Cathal Joyce. A true inspiration.
Great news story @cathaljoyce on back of @westmeathindo #Athlone #HeartOfIt #inspiration @AthloneGAA pic.twitter.com/E4S7XtiBOy
— athlone.ie (@athloneie) April 6, 2016
