To paraphrase the great Michéal Ó Muircheartaigh, the area around Indreabhán would be renowned for many things, but it wouldn’t necessarily be seen as an obvious starting point for international Alpine skiers – at least until now.

The great RTÉ broadcaster opined that Fiji wasn’t the home of hurling until Seán Óg Ó hAilpín came along – and in a variation on that, a fair few Folans around Cor na Rón West was tuned in to see one of their own this week, representing Ireland at what is effectively the European Junior Winter Olympics in Georgia.

Because seventeen-year-old Kyle Gump might have been born in San Francisco, but thanks to his Galway roots and his strong bonds to his late grandfather, the Alpine Skier was proud to don the green singlet at the European Youth Olympic Festival.

And there to cheer him on were his equally proud parents Thomas and Trish; his mam all the while remembering her own dad, James Folan – Séamus Ó Cualáin – who left his native shore for the US in 1956.

Like so many families, the Folans are at home on both sides of the Atlantic – and those in Ireland are as proud of their skiing protegé as the ones living in San Francisco where so many of them make their lives.

“Some of the cousins were able to watch on the app because luckily the power came back in time. But when I was trying to let them know when he’d be skiing, I didn’t even get through because their iPhones were out of action when they couldn’t charge them after the storm (Éowyn),” says Trish.

Indeed Kyle is one of two young Winter Olympic hopefuls, both boasting impeccable Galway roots in Georgia. Figure skater Allie Peterson’s maternal grandparents are from Galway, and between them, they constitute half of Team Ireland in Georgia, joined by two other Alpine Skiers, Julia Deakins and Finlay Wilson.

Kyle began his competitive skiing journey at the age of seven and is now based in Concord, New Hampshire, USA – and right from the start, his dream was to compete for Ireland.

“Kyle was very close to his grandfather and when he started racing, he thought it would be amazing to represent Ireland. We had conversations with Snowsports Ireland and that’s how it all came about,” explains Trish.

“Snowsports Ireland asked Kyle when his grandfather left Ireland, and he said he never left because he went home every night; every night he dreamt of being home in Ireland.”

Home was always Cor na Rón West – three miles from Inverin, seven miles from Spiddal – and home to the Folans from the beginning of time.

Caption: Alpine skier Kyle Gump with his mum Trish in Georgia at the European Youth Olympic Festival.

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