YOU MAY RECALL the story we brought you recently about Cathal Joyce, a young Westmeath footballer who almost lost his life on a GAA pitch.
Three weeks after that frightening episode, Joyce was a member of the Athlone panel as the club regained senior status in Westmeath following victory over Tubberclair in yesterday’s county intermediate football final.
Following relegation last year, Athlone bounced straight back up at the first attempt and there was a brilliant ending for Joyce too as he posed for a picture with the silverware and a defibrillator after the game.
Joyce, naturally, didn’t feature in the game but club secretary Peter Mellin told The42 this afternoon that his name was listed among the substitutes on a memorable day.
“He’s back and he’s well,” said Mellin.
“We won the intermediate final yesterday and it was before the semi-final a few weeks ago when the problem arose.
“He wasn’t playing or togged out but we listed him on the programme as one of the subs.
“We named 40 players and while I don’t think the county board will issue 40 medals, we’ll make it up some way!”
A mature student at Athlone IT, Joyce played his part along the way as the Athlone club journeyed back to the senior grade.
They will now turn their attentions to the AIB Leinster championship, with a trip to Wicklow in less than a fortnight’s time.
And the return of Joyce to health crowned a fantastic day for Athlone, as Mellin added: “It turned out well after a bad scare initially. Hopefully it will have brought awareness of the whole thing to every sport but thankfully it turned out well for Cathal.
“I’m not sure if he’s going to play football again but in the overall scheme of things, that’s not that important.”
Joyce underwent an MRI and angiogram before undergoing surgery.
All of the team here at The42 wish Cathal well in his recovery.
