72 Wednesday May 31, 2017 www.tuamherald.ie

Jim Carney This Sporting Life From Abbey, Gurteen and Iraq to Croke Park — via Leitrim

T'S the dream of every young person who plays Gaelic Ifootball and to show their talent on the lush green sward of Croke Park in an All- Ireland final. Three members of Abbeyknockmoy Hurling Club will play there on Saturday week, June 10 — two of them for the second time. Goalkeeper Declan Molloy, defender David Carton and goal-poaching forward Pádraig O'Donnell will be playing for Leitrim in the Meagher Cup final. This competition was added to the GAA calendar in 2009. In status it is the fourth-highest inter-county senior hurling championship, behind the Liam MacCarthy Cup, the Cup and the Cup. It is named in honour of a legendary hurler of the 1930s, Lorenzo "Lory" Meagher, whose club was Tullaroan. In an earlier time in Kilkenny hurling, Tullaroan and Bennettsbridge were the two top clubs. The 'Bridge, having lost their senior status after two decades of glory (1950s and '60s), denied Declan Molloy, Pádraig O'Donnell SPREADING THE GOSPEL OF HURLING: Abbeyknockmoy clubmen Pádraig O’Donnell, David Carton, Declan Molloy and Michael Coleman have and their Abbeyknockmoy helped the Leitrim county team to get to Croke Park. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILLIE DONNELLAN, LEITRIM OBSERVER. clubmates victory in the 2015 All-Ireland Intermediate Club miles from his home to Attymon with the exception of Galway. Championship final, played at railway station every morning But one player who has stayed Croke Park in early February 2016. to meet the Galway- main loyal, in the most exemplary way, They are so lucky to have such a wonderful Another very disappointed man line train for its 8.00am Loughrea to Martin Cunniffe and Leitrim that day was Michael Coleman, branch line connection, and doing hurling is Zak Moradi and it was hurling man to promote the game in Leitrim. hero of two epic victories within the reverse journey at 4 o’clock. the 25-year-old left full-forward's Martin and his wife Dolores (a Mayo woman, a short time of each other in 1988 It was a splendid travel service to late goal against Sligo at Carrick- — playing at midfield for Galway have in rural West of Ireland at the on-Shannon last Saturday week, from Ballybrehony, Claremorris) and their in the All-Ireland SHC final vs time but the Loughrea branch line allied to Warwickshire's win over family are united in their love of hurling and Tipperary and his club's chief closed in 1975. Lancashire at the Old Bedians the county they live in inspiration in their County SHC A lifelong friend from Gurteen, Sports Centre in Manchester triumph, defeating Athenry in a Noel Treacy, paid Martin this on the same day, that ensured replay of the county final. Michael tribute: "They are so lucky to have Leitrim would be on the road to family roots stretched through your history book and you'd have is now in his third year helping such a wonderful hurling man Croke Park. The two results in two war-torn countries in the a big picture of him on the front the Leitrim senior hurling team to promote the game in Leitrim. the penultimate round of fixtures Middle East. The Moradis came of your book. The second page as trainer and coach, alongside Martin and his wife Dolores (a worked out for Leitrim but it was originally from the mountainous you opened, there was a little manager Martin Cunniffe, also Mayo woman, from Ballybrehony, tough luck on Sligo who were region on the Iranian side of picture of him. He was looking at Galway-born but he's lived all his Claremorris) and their family are defeated in the last two Lory the border with Iraq and five of us the whole time. If there were 30 working life in the county made united in their love of hurling and Meagher Cup finals, by Louth Semaco's ten siblings were born million people in Iraq, there were famous in a very popular 1960s' the county they live in, but he has last year and Fermanagh in 2015. there. Their parents were forced 30 million pictures of him. You'd Country 'n' Irish song as Lovely remained a loyal Pearses man too Leitrim and Sligo are not yet on the to flee to central Iraq, along with be trained not to say anything Leitrim. and everybody in our club will be Roll of Honour. Since the inaugural 20,000 other people, after the bad about him. Five TV channels A native of Gurteen — half the wishing him all the best at Croke year of the competition, 2009, it Iraq-Iran war started in 1980. and it was all about Saddam catchment area, along with Park in the Cup final has been won by Longford (twice), Semaco was born in Ramadi in Hussein. The whole day long was Ballymacward — of the Pádraig against Warwickshire. We also Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, 1991 and the first Gulf War was all about him. Iraqi singers had Pearses GAA club, Martin Cunniffe proudly remember Martin for his Warwickshire and Louth. on: Saddam Hussein vs George to sing about Saddam and how is a retired Garda sergeant who has great ability as a player with our Semaco ("Zak") Moradi was HW Bush and the USA's Operation great he was. You could pick up had an unwavering commitment club. He was a powerful midfielder born in Ramadi, a city in central Desert Storm. a newspaper any day and you to Leitrim hurling since he arrived who had the strengh to win the Iraq, 110km west of Baghdad, and In a recent interview, Semaco wouldn’t know if the newspaper in Carrick-on-Shannon from the ball, the speed to run with it and he spent the first eleven years looked back on his childhood was today's or from last month Garda training college in 1973. He he could make or take a score." of his life there with his family years under a dictatorship: because it was the same stuff, all had been a student at St Brigid's In Leitrim, Gaelic football is much who are Iranian Kurds, the third "You couldn’t open your mouth about Saddam." Vocational School, Loughrea and I more popular than hurling and largest ethnic group in Iran: ten about Saddam Hussein. He was One of Semaco's older brothers was fascinated to hear from Martin gets most of the official promotion million of the country’s 80 million like a God in Iraq. You'd go to had left home early and made that he had travelled to Loughrea by the local GAA authorities — as inhabitants. As a boy, Semaco school and there would always be a great life for himself working daily by train, cycling the three it does in all counties could not have known that his pictures of Saddam. You opened for the United Nations, and he www.tuamherald.ie Wednesday May 31, 2017 73 SPORT

LOVELY LEITRIM ... thanks to two Galway men: Michael Coleman and Martin Cunniffe.

GOAL! One of the two ‘majors’ scored by Pádraig O’Donnell for Leitrim in their crucial victory over Sligo in the competition. helped the family members back All-Star award. in Ramadi to get out of Iraq. To In the recent victory over Sligo cut a long story short, they came by 3-15 to 3-8, Zak Moradi scored to Ireland, to Carrick-on-Shannon. 1-2 and Pádraig O'Donnell hit 2-6 Semaco, nearly 12 years of age, (2-1 from play, three frees and learned how to speak English and two 65s). Martin Cunniffe told me how to play hurling! His coach was that Michael Coleman's rousing Martin Cunniffe's son Clement, half-time speech lifted the team a Lory Meagher Cup All-Star two to new heights. Michael wouldn't years ago. The boy now known be a man to talk about that but as Zak became a brilliant hurler, he did tell me that he's enjoyed moved to Dublin with his parents his three years helping Leitrim; four years after they came to he's proud to have three clubmen Ireland because his father got with him — Leitrim are entitled to a good job offer in the capital, bring in three 'outside' players — but Zak had fallen in love with and they're all hoping for the best Leitrim and hurling, and although when they get to Croke Park to he played in the Dublin IHC with play a highly rated Warwickshire the Thomas Davis club he kept a team who have a big name in their promise he made to himself that line-out, the former Antrim star he would wear the Leitrim county forward Liam Watson. jersey if it was ever offered to him. Best of luck to Martin Cunniffe, Last year, Zak was the delighted Michael Coleman and the Leitrim recipient of a Lory Meagher Cup hurlers. Keep the West awake!