Shane Boland of Tooreen during the AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship final match between Tooreen of Mayo and Upperchurch-Drombane of Tipperary at Croke Park in Dublin, January 10, 2026. Photo: Piaras Ó ídheach/Sportsfile. While tens of thousands of Mayo supporters descended on Croke Park, as towns, villages and crossroads emptied in hope that a 75-year wait for Sam Maguire might finally end, anticipation had already reached a fever pitch a week earlier in the tiny rural community of Tooreen, near the Roscommon border. For while Mayo is, and…
