Four Masters triumph marked by heartfelt tribute to teammate's late mother

Through all the fanfare and celebrations following Four Masters’ Ulster final victory over Magherafelt on Wednesday in Belfast, it took a group of underage players to put everything into perspective. 

Following the Donegal Town side’s 1-8 to 0-9 point victory over the Derry champions to secure a second Ulster final title in-a-row, team captain Callum McCrea produced a touching moment when he brought with him to the stage teammate Terence McGovern to lift the Jim McConville Cup, one month to the day after McGovern lost his mother Mary. 

The team also wore pink bands around their wrists showing respect to the McGovern family, especially their friend and teammate Terence. 

In highlighting their togetherness after the Ulster final, St Paul’s club member Damian Duffy added: “It was a great tribute to Terence’s mother. To me, that’s what the GAA is all about. Family is more important than GAA and to keep him involved and to bring him up and help him lift that trophy, that’s a great memory for him. 

“That’ll be a great memory for that team and was no doubt a wee bit of inspiration for them today. It was a great touch from the team and fair play to the Four Masters squad.” 

Team captain McCrea also paid his respect in his winning speech saying: “It’s been a tough time the last month with Terence losing his mum but we all came together as a community and we all came together as a parish which we can’t thank enough."

Following on from the club’s U-21 county final success on December 1, the team came together in a room to show respect for the McGovern family following the news of Mary’s passing the night of the county final homecoming, once again showing that some things are more important in life than sport. 

Mary was survived by her husband John and her children Nicole, Amy, Eilish, and Terence.