Joy was unbridled and superlatives flowed as all in Mayo glowed in Sunday's glory. Not even rare old Dubliners could begrudge Mayo this long-awaited victory.
For the ninth time of asking, the Connacht county finally delivered, and in the end it was a commanding performance. As players hugged, families cried, and fans applauded, the rest of the country nodded approvingly. And the superstitious of Mayo sighed in relief - finally the curse might be broken.
It was hard for anyone not to get caught up in Mayo's jubilation. These two sides produced one of the best advertisements for the Gaelic game, and all of Ireland was on the edge. When momentum swung Mayo's way going into extra time, the adrenalin levels ratcheted up beyond anything the season had produced. It was energy sapping stuff even for those sitting on a sofa and a collective sigh of relief.
However, such joyous scenes from the 24,000 thousand in Croke Park contrasted starkly with those across the other side of the world of fleeing Afghans during the Taliban takeover. While Mayo footballers and fans may have been desperate to break this long-held hoodoo, it was nothing compared with the sense of urgency and panic in Kabul.
Within hours a photograph of 640 people crammed on the floor of US cargo plane designed to hold 150 soldiers went viral. Worse were images of those who had climbed onto the landing gear in a last-ditch attempt to leave, but were seen dropping to their deaths from the sky after take off. No one could be unmoved or horrified.
Tomorrow is World Humanitarian Day - designated by the United Nations five years after a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 that killed 22 people including the UN's top representative Sergio Vieira de Mello. Dominic MacSorley, CEO of Concern Worldwide, says the day has now become a global campaign to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of all people affected by criss, and for the safety aid workers.
"This year, as the extremely volatile situation in Afghanistan continues to unfold, while on the other side of the world, another devastating earthquake has hit Haiti, there is an especially tragic relevance to World Humanitarian Day.
"These desperate humanitarian crises are taking place against the broader backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc everywhere, but particularly in lower income and largely unvaccinated nations. And we must remind ourselves that the pandemic arrived at a time of already heightened humanitarian need, driven by surging conflict and the worsening impact of the climate crisis.
"This deadly combination of conflict, climate breakdown and the Covid-19 pandemic is taking us back to world we thought we had left behind; extreme poverty has risen for first time in 20 years, and famine - something we thought we had consigned to history - is back. We are truly at a grave global moment but we have to focus on solutions and act now."
The UN Secretary-General has said that 2021 is the world’s ‘make-or-break year’. The choices we make now may shape the course of events for many years to come.
Linley MacKenzie
