Friday 8th October 2021 was a day that all at St. Joseph's will remember with fondness, as past pupils and All-Ireland winners Liam Rafferty and Conor Quinn returned to St. Joseph's with the fabled Sam Maguire in tow following their win for Tyrone against Mayo in the September decider at Croke Park. They were joined by fellow teammate and All Ireland winner Conor Quinn.
The playground was a scene of pure elation as the boys hoisted Sam into the air from atop the balcony at the rear of the school. Awash with red and white, the boys and girls cheered, clapped, sang and celebrated the return of their heroes, just as the boys had done back in their own school days welcoming the successful Tyrone players of the 'noughties'.
Liam Rafferty even brought along a framed photo of himself alongside his Primary 2 classmates back in 2003 when Paddy Tally and company brought Sam to the school following Tyrone's historic first All-Ireland win. In the photo, he is pictured standing right beside Sam in a red jersey, while everyone else was clad in white - destined to stand apart in the sporting area from an early age!
Who knows, in 10 or 15 years time some of our current pupils could well be walking the same joyous journey out onto the balcony at the rear of the school to rapturous scenes among the future generations of Galbally Gaels!
