The social media site that has taken Mayo GAA to the world
ON the lead-up to Mayo's sixth All-Ireland SFC final since the foundation of Facebook in February 2004, one GAA social networking site in the county has cornered the market in attracting the interest of fans of the green and red throughout the world.
The Mayo GAA Banter Page, which started from humble beginnings in the remote village of Dooniver on Achill Island ahead of Mayo's sensational three-point win over Dublin in the 2012 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, has grown into a colossus.
You don't have to take my word for it because the statistics are undisputable.
During the week after Stephen Rochford's charges overcame Tipperary to reach the county's 15th All-Ireland decider, the platform set up by Seán McGinty (or Seán Micheál MacGionntaigh), at the age of 17 reached an astronomical 1,230,548 people (August 24 to August 30).
Over the course of seven days in question, the page also recieved 965 new 'likes' - people who now receive every story, comment and photograph posted by the site directly to their mobile telephone or laptop. 'Likes' are the holy grail of the social media world and are invariably central to attacting advertising revenue.
While the upbeat mood of Mayo supporters around the globe was an underlying factor in the page's astonishing figures during week in question, the posting of one particular image on August 29 sent the viral world into a spin and ultimately benefitted the status of the Mayo GAA Banter Page as a site which surely will no longer be overlooked by the right commercial entity seeking to extend its message.
It was a simple photograph of a baby with its eyes cast to heaven and its tender hands pressed together in prayer as if stating: “Please Jesus. . .let Mayo hammer Dublin'.
The graphic, shared 7,000 times, captured to perfection the mood of ordinary people from a county that had lost seven All-Ireland finals since 1989 and is waiting since 1951 to capture its fourth Sam Maguire Cup.
In the event of Mayo succeeding in its quest next Sunday, the page will completely sweep the boards of the international social media industry.
As founder Sean McGinty explained, nobody gets paid for administering the site. They do so out of a love for the game.
A student of marketing at IT Tallaght, he said there is no great strain running the operation because of the help he recieves from Martin Flannery, Ballycastle, Shane Cannon, Burrishoole, Louise Heneghan, Ballina, Cliona O'Gara, Charlestown, his aunt Breege McGinty, Dublin, and Micheál McGurk, Curraune.
“They are all steeped in Mayo GAA in different ways and enjoy being involved with the page. One of us will be online at least every day of the week and obviously more often on the lead-up and on the day of big games.
“But it's the fans who have really made the site the success it is. It is mostly about what they submit to us, their comments, their stories.
“It is not just followers of Mayo Gaelic games who follow the site. We have friends in most countries throughout the world who enjoy our brand of humour and wit.”
The coming days promise to be very busy ones for the magnificent seven who run the Mayo GAA Banter page.
Let's hope that by Monday it has set new records.