THE ROVERS returned last night to a home-coming with a touch of deja vu about it, as Sligo Rovers brought the FAI Cup home for the second year in a row.
Long before the team arrived to an outpouring of joy in their spiritual home, the Showgrounds, thousands of fans had lined the streets of towns and villages throughout the county as the triumphant cavalcade swept through Gurteen, Ballymote, Collooney, Ballisodare and Tubbercurry where local man Raffaele Cretaro was the hero of the night.
Probably one of the most joyful celebrations was in the small village of Riverstown where 13 of the squad now live among a population of around 400.
Bonfires lit up entrances to the village as the squad were greeted by hundreds of local people.
One of the most popular residents of Riverstown is Joseph Ndo, who in 1998 played for his native Cameroon in the World Cup Finals. In a magnanimous gesture last evening he presented his FAI cup medal to an overjoyed Sligo Rovers fan, Shane Scully from Ballymote a dedicated supporter and much loved character in the community whose devotion to the club is legendary .
Among those who turned out in Riverstown to welcome Ndo and his team mates “home” was local man Johnny Kenny, a former Sligo Rovers legend who himself won an FAI Cup medal in 1994. “They are a great team,” said Kenny who works in the Connacht Gold co-op in Riverstown. “It was a great achievement for them – they are a great bunch”.
As fans thronged the streets of the village, the cup was taken into Seán Mac Dermott’s pub where captain Richie Ryan and striker Eoin Doyle delighted fans by posing for photographs and signing autographs.
“It’s great to see the cup back in Riverstown”, said publican Seán Mac Dermott. “It’s a great honour for the village and we are very proud to have so many of the lads living here”.
Among the players who have made Riverstown home are Dubliners Gavin Peers, Jason McGuinness and Aaron Greene.
Mayor of Sligo Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady whose son Conor was on last year’s FAI Cup winning squad will host a civic reception for the players at City Hall, Sligo today.
