Old GAA hands in Westport will have learned with sadness of the death in Dublin of Padraic Bruen, one of the finest footballers ever produced locally. No club is without its icon, and long before Padraic Bruen came on the scene, old Westport stars of the thirties, Purty Kelly and Tommy Hoban, had attained celebrity status for their achievements as members of the great Mayo teams of that period. What Padraic Bruen achieved was more modest, but no less notable. County distinction may have eluded him, but Westport GAA were indebted to him for his selfless and unstinting efforts on and off the field throughout the sixties and seventies. "He was not just a member of the team, he was the team," said Denis Carroll, former West Mayo GAA Board secretary, who played alongside Bruen. "He was also a great clubman, certainly the best in my time." Carroll recalls as a student travelling home from Dublin for Sunday games only to meet Padraic Bruen combing pubs in Westport on a Sunday morning craving some players to tog out for the club. "He soldiered with Westport when they only had half a team. Not only was he a great player and clubman, he was also a hell of a nice guy." Undeterred by rampaging apathy and annual failure, Padraic Bruen's singular effort to mould a competitive team was realised in 1970 when, following four successive defeats in the West Mayo final, the Cusack Cup was finally captured. It was their first West win in 29 years. To this day the ecstasy of Bruen that moment when he raised the trophy is forever etched in your columnist's memory. As a hurler he was well used to success, having won four county medals with Westport between 1962 and 1970. Winning the West in football for the first time realised a greater ambition, however. The momentum continued. Westport went on to win the Mayo junior championship that same year and no one begrudged Bruen and his team the ultimate victory that few had believed they could salvage from so much disappointment. County selectors had acknowledged his ability early in his career, but he was not given the time to reproduce for the county the standard for which he was noted in club football. It was, however, as a county player that the character of the man made its deepest impact. Padraic had been chosen to travel with the Mayo team to tour America. The selectors had dropped a bombshell by omitting from the travelling party. - Mayo News March 17th 2009 Tweet

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