Aidan O'Shea celebrates poignant victory for club as they remember ex-teammate
O'Shea was the heartbeat of a Breaffy side that beat Crossmolina 2-23 to 2-22 in the Division One final on Saturday.
But the victory was all the more special for O'Shea and his teammates as they lifted the David Gavin Memorial Cup - a trophy named after their former club player who passed away tragically in 2017.
O'Shea said: "It was a pretty mad game. It was a bit helter-skelter, more than we would have liked, I think.
"We would have liked it a bit more controlled, but we are delighted to get over the line.
"Crossmolina are a great side, intermediate All-Ireland champions and then throw in all of the young lads coming through, and they are going to be a really good team for a couple of years.
"I'm just delighted for the group. We haven't won a Division One for a while, and it's all the sweeter when it's a cup named after our own clubman, David Gavin.
"To be up there lifting the trophy is a really nice moment, and one that is well overdue."
Gavin died after he got into difficulty while swimming in Kinbasket Lake Reservoir in British Columbia, Canada, and it was close to a year before his remains were finally recovered.
His good friend O'Shea turned 35 this summer after playing his 17th consecutive season for Mayo, a season that ultimately ended in an gut-wrenching exit in the group stages of the All-Ireland Championship.
The Breaffy man is the appearances record holder for Mayo in the League and Championship - and seems set to line out for his county again next season.
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