SKIBBEREEN certainly knows how to host a homecoming.
The town has had plenty of practice. There was the party that celebrated O’Donovan Rossa’s historic 1993 All-Ireland senior club triumph. Skibb was the centre of the universe on a Monday night in August 2016 when the town swelled to salute the Olympic silver medal success of Lisheen’s finest Gary and Paul O’Donovan. Now, add the homecoming of O’Donovan Rossa’s All-Ireland club junior-winning heroes to that list.
Late on Sunday night, this all-conquering band of sisters brought Skibbereen to a standstill, as a huge crowd thronged the centre of the town to welcome home their latest All-Ireland winning heroes.
The magnitude of the celebrations even took the players by surprise.
‘The whole street was packed, it was amazing,’ Laura O’Mahony says.
The victorious players, on an open-top bus organised by Damien Long, were paraded down North Street before rounding the corner onto Main Street, where a stage was waiting for them – and a huge army of Rossa supporters in full voice and with flags flying.
‘It was incredible, we were coming down North Street and we knew there would be a crowd there, but to see the volume of people that lined the streets for us was amazing,’ manager James O’Donovan notes.
The Skibb stars then boarded the trailer and took centre stage – and that’s a memory that will stay with them forever.
‘We were all lined up on the trailer, we had the three cups (Cork, Munster and All-Ireland), and we had a sing-song in front of the crowd; it was like a concert,’ says Kate O’Donovan.
‘We were embracing it and making memories that we’ll always have.’
Christmas came early for O’Donovan Rossa’s ladies’ team last weekend, and the team that has brought Skibbereen so much joy this year saw how much their efforts were appreciated. This is a party that will last long into the festive season. It’s going to be a good Christmas in Skibb.
