ARCH-ENEMIES they might have been on the hallowed turf of Croke Park on a September Sunday in 1974, but since then, a wonderful bond of friendship has built up between the Galway and Dublin football teams from that era.

The joys of sport and the ups-and-downs of life led to a special presentation of a cheque to Galway Hospice for €5,000 last month from the ‘Dublin ‘70s’ footballers, after they had heard a poignant personal story a couple of months previously, from the man who captained Galway in the ’74 final.

Since that Sunday of September 22 1974, in a final won by the Dubs on a 0-14 to 1-6 scoreline, members of that team have built up a special relationship with the hospice foundation in the capital.

Last April, the Dublin team invited their Galway counterparts of ’74 to a fundraising lunch for Hospice in Croke Park and they asked Gay Mitchell to say a few words on behalf of his colleagues.

Gay told the Connacht Tribune that he was ‘caught a bit on the hop’ when asked to speak but in the course of his reply he recalled a very poignant personal experience for himself and his family with Galway Hospice.

“I just recalled our own family experience and that of our daughter Aoife [Mitchell-Creaven] who passed away in 2015 after spending four months in Galway Hospice. It just seemed to strike a chord with the Dublin lads.

“Then, on the day of the Galway-Dublin quarter-final clash last month, Jimmy Duggan, had some time before that, organised a golf outing in Galway Golf Club with the Dubs.

“A great crowd of them came down and after the golf we all watched the match over a meal and a few drinks at the bar. It was just one of those special occasions.

“When the match was over, Seán Doherty [the Dublin captain in ‘74] came over to me and said that I’ve something to present to you for Galway Hospice – a cheque for €5,000.

“It was something that just completely bowled me over – an incredible piece of generosity and decency – and I think it brought home to me everything that is good and wholesome about the GAA. A gesture of real sincerity and kindness,” said Gay Mitchell.

Caption: Seán Doherty, captain of the 1974 Dublin team that beat Galway in the All-Ireland Football Final of that year, presenting a cheque of €5,000 to Galway ’74 captain, Gay Mitchell, for the Galway Hospice, at Galway Golf Club on June 29 last.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.