Ruane, Mick
July 06, 2010
The Late Mick Ruane
When Sean Rice picked his top Mayo team of the past 50 years for The Mayo News in recent weeks, he found a place in the full forward line for Mick Ruane of Castlebar. Mick belonged to the 1960s era when Connacht football was on a high and Galway landed three in a row. Roscommon also appeared in the 1962 final while Galway lost out in 1963 prior to winning the titles in '64,'65 and '66.
The year 1966 will hardly ever be repeated again as Galway won the All-Ireland senior, Roscommon the U-21 and Mayo the minor crown.
The death of Mick Ruane some weeks ago directed memories back to that decade when some of us were children in national school. I can still see Mick positioned in front of the Galway goal area over in McHale Park, waiting on the dropping ball, and then, head down, bearing down on the Galway posts.
He was a GAA man through and through and, after his playing career with Mayo and Castlebar Mitchels ended, he gave countless hours and years of devotion to McHale Park. You could say that he almost adopted the park, such was his loyalty and devotion to it.
In the back room at McCarthy's Restaurant on Main Street where Mick and his wife, Breege, (nee McCarthy) resided down through the years, there was never any shortage of football talk. The Sunday Game would hardly get a look-in when it came to discussing the big games of the day in the company of such folks as Ned (Eamon) Murren, Tommy O'Malley, Rory O'Connor, the late Tom McHugh (shoemaker)( and a host of others who graced the inner circle.
McCarthy's restaurant has always been a great favourite with the GAA fraternity and Breege has been to the fore in ensuring that everyone is made very welcome. It's the old style fáilte that is so lacking in many business establishments in recent years. She takes time to chat with everyone, sit down at the tables and take part in easy-going conversation that makes us all feel so welcome. In many ways, you could say that Breege is at the heart of the auld stock nature that is part of old Castlebar.
Friends and colleagues gave Mick a great send-off. Many stories were recalled by comrades in arms from those days before we joined the EU and when football was the world to so many of us back then.
To Breege, daughter Rachel and son Ronan and members of the extended family circle, our condolences at this time
Courtesy of the Mayo News
July 6th 2010
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