Devoted Mayo GAA fans travel 17,000km for All-Ireland Final
The lads have returned to Ireland after an epic journey from western Australia.
Two dedicated Mayo GAA fans have made an epic 17,000km trip across the world for this weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Football Final clash against Kerry in Croke Park.
James Towey and James Horan have travelled from Pilbara, Western Australia to Dublin, in time for the big game. The lads, who are originally from Ballaghaderreen and Kilmovee respectively, have left the iron ore site where they are working for the week, hopefully to make their trip worth it.
They began their long journey from Pilbara to Perth and then Perth to Dublin, landing on Friday before travelling to Mayo. They are still on the hunt for tickets to the sold-out clash in Croke Park, but have their fingers crossed that they will run into some great luck.
If they can’t source any tickets, they plan to travel to Dublin anyway where they’ll be joined by family and friends with plans “to soak up the atmosphere and take it all in”.
James Towey says “nothing beats the buzz around the city on All-Ireland final day”, and he wants to be right in the middle of that buzz, whether it be in Croke Park or the city itself. Thousands of Mayo fans will be heading up to Dublin without a ticket, meaning all the pubs will be packed with green and red fans.
After the excitement of the weekend, the two lads are due to return to Pilbara on Tuesday. The pair have bargained to get more time off work, to stay for the hopeful celebrations, but they are both scheduled for their shift in the mines on Thursday. They expect to land in Perth on Wednesday and travel to Pilbara for work bright and early in the morning, providing jetlag isn’t a problem.
