Rounds of applause greet Sean's arrival back to final resting place The haunting sound of the funeral bell that rang our from Tuam Cathedral was almost drowned out by rapturous applause as the coffin of the legendary Sean Purcell passed among the thousands of mourners who came to pay their respects. It was almost as if he had fisted over one of his trademark points and the crowds were expressing their appreciation, such were the scenes as the hearse drove slowly through his home town , having earlier made the long journey from Dublin, where he passed away. Local GAA clubs had lined the route from Ballinasloe into Tuam where the coffin was met by members of Tuam Stars with whom Sean had won 10 county titles from 1947 to 1952 and they provided a guard of honour from the outskirts of the town to St. Jarlath's College where Sean's body was reposing until Tuesday evening. A crowd of around 1,000 people were there to meet the hearse as it arrived in Tuam and as it made its way through the town, it was greeted with applause by young and old as a mark of appreciation for his contribution to Gaelic football. It was like a celebration of football as people from all walks of life gathered along the route to witness for themselves 'The Master's final journey. Earlier in the afternoon several hundred mourners led by Major Hugh Dolan lined the streets of Ballinasloe to pay their respects to the man who denied them a county title exactly 50 years ago. Many recalled how he had fisted a goal two minutes from the end to earn Tuam Stars one of their seven-in-a-row county titles. There were similar scenes in Ahascragh where locals carried both club and flags as a mark of respect to the late, great Sean Purcell as the hearse proceeded to Caltra where again crowds lined the route. The villages of Mountbellew and Moylough both provided guards of honour and Kilkerrin-Clonberne members stood respectfully holding a club banner at the grotto outside Maylough. Officials and players from the Monivea-Abbey club organised their own guard of honour as the cortege passed through Horseleap Cross while their was a big turnout in Barnadearg as former All-Star Padraig Joyce and his Killerein clubmates paid their respects. At 6.45 the cortege finality arrived in Tuam where around 2,000 mourners lined the streets from the Dublin road to St. Jarlath's College. In a poignant scene the cortege continued along the Purcell-Stockwell Road, which was named in honour of two of the greatest footballers ever just a few years ago. A lone piper led the cortege until it eventually reached St. Jarleth's College where the Cortoon, Milltown and Dunmore GAA clubs had organised their own guard of honour. The funeral cortege stopped on three occasions along the route through Tuam - at the Tuam Stars centre, at the entrance to Tuam Stadium and at Purcell's old newsagency on Vicar Street. Local shops displayed old photographs of the great man in action as the lone piper played Raglin Road as the coffin made its way through the gates of St. Jarlath's College. The President of St. Jarlath's, Fr.Conal Eustace led the prayers as former players and managers of Galway carried the coffin into one of the greatest football nurseries in the county. There, mourners queued for a long time to pay their last respects to one of Galway's greatest servants. Courtesy of the Connacht Tribune September 2005 Tweet

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