Armagh GAA manager Kieran McGeeney says bringing Sam Maguire for a visit to sick children in Craigavon Area Hospital was ‘extra special’ as his son had been in the same hospital just two weeks ago.
‘Geezer’ was joined by captain Aidan Forker and several All-Ireland heroes from Armagh at the Blossom Unit of the hospital the day after the team’s historic victory over Galway in Dublin’s Croke Park.
After Sunday’s night’s homecoming just across the border in the Carrickdale Hotel, the first official engagement for Sam was a visit to the children’s unit to greet patients and their families.
The victorious manager, who joins an elite group of people to have won Sam Maguire as both a captain and a coach, said his son Cian had been in the unit just before the team’s epic victory over Kerry two weeks ago.
“It’s a wee bit extra special for myself, my son was in here two and a half weeks ago and we got great care,” McGeeney told the Irish News.
“It’s not somewhere you always want to find yourself, but when you do it’s good to have good people around you.
“So it was important for us to come back to our own hospitals and see all the kids here and their families here, it makes it extra special.
“There will be a lot of sore heads this morning but when we asked for any of the players to come, all of them put their hands up.
“They are a great bunch and they understand that sometimes there is bigger things out there than sport, so it wasn’t a hard sell.
“It’s a special moment for the players. In sport you have more bad days than good ones, so when we have the good ones it’s nice to soak it in.
“The players had a good party last night and were able to let their hair down with all the supporters, so it has definitely sunk in and it’s been a good 24 hours.”
Captain Aidan Forker, fresh after delivering a memorable speech on the steps of the Hogan Stand, said it was ‘overwhelming’ to see the crowd that had gathered to meet players at the hospital.
He said: “It’s a bit overwhelming, I wasn’t expecting so many people to be here awaiting us at Craigavon hospital but delighted to be able to bring a bit of joy to people’s faces.
“There’s a certain degree of humility that it brings. We’re on a high, we’re in dreamland but when you go out and see children sick and people struggling, and the joy that you can bring to them and the families is always nice to be able to do.
“We’re delighted to be able to come here, it’s the first stop for Sam Maguire in the county so it’s quite poignant that it’s people who weren’t able to watch the match or go to the game.”
