For Mayo's Deel Rovers, it's a day in Dublin laden with emotion
The tragedy that befell the Crossmolina and wider north Mayo community in the past few weeks puts into sharp focus that some things matter far more that sport, writes Brian Gillespie.
Crossmolina Deel Rovers still have a chance to win the All-Ireland intermediate football title and you can be sure that when the players get out on to the Croke Park turf today (Sunday) next for the showdown with Derry and Ulster champions Ballinderry, which has a 1.30 p.m. throw-in time, they will be focused on the task in hand, but the significance of the occasion has been put into perspective by the incidents of the past few weeks.
Maybe the match will aid with the healing process. At the very least it will allow for the community to come together in a show of support for players who have been through a lot in recent days. It will be a day of high emotion whatever the outcome of the encounter.
It's impossible to predict how the game itself will play out. The players may rise to the occasion or may find it all a bit overwhelming given everything that has happened. The tale will unfold this afternoon.
The chance is there for the Mayo and Connacht champions to claim a rare double. In 2000/01, the Deel Rovers famously won the All-Ireland senior club title, and to add the intermediate crown would complete a double feat that doesn't happen too often.
Oddly, Ballinderry are in the exact same position. Just a year after Crossmolina won the senior title, Ballinderry took the honours – and both of those victories came against Cork's Nemo Rangers.
In their respective semi-finals, Ballinderry got the better of Austin Stacks of Tralee while Crossmolina were too strong for Kildare's Caragh.
Ballinderry's win was eye-catching but could not be termed a complete performance. In the opening half they only managed to score two points from eight opportunities, even when Austin Stacks had a man black-carded. They also went a full 32 minutes without raising a flag during the contest.
Having said that, once Ballinderry began to play the kind of football that had brought them to this stage of the championship, they were a different team. In those last 20 minutes or so they produced a masterclass, outscoring their opponents by seven points to one when the game was there to be won and lost, Gareth McKinless really coming to the fore in this period.
But Crossmolina have proven credentials too. The Mayo championship was a rollercoaster, the Connact campaign a bit more straightforward, and the All-Ireland semi-final an unexpected breeze on a calm, frosty day in Longford.
Though not quite flawless, that semi-final display against Caragh was hugely impressive. It's unlikely that Ballinderry will be as accommodating as the Kildare men in allowing Crossmolina to dictate things, but if the Deel Rovers can click – if they can put everything that has gone on in recent weeks to the back of the mind for 60 minutes or so – they can leave Dublin with a victory.
If they win the celebrations will be understandably muted this evening and in the coming days and weeks. But victory could prove somewhat cathartic for Conor Loftus and his team-mates on a day laden with emotion.