I had some time to myself last Saturday and so I set off on one of my favourite walks. I started on Culleenamore Beach and headed contentedly away from Knocknarea, then all the way around the point in the soft sand until I reached the relative hustle and bustle of Strandhill.
It was beautiful. That evening I had a Zoom chat with some longtime friends with whom I used to play football – one of them was celebrating a big birthday. These lads all grew up in Sligo – on the Coolera peninsula to be more precise, but are all now living elsewhere. They spoke of their lockdown experiences, and lamented how their 5k area doesn’t include much more than a bunch of housing estates. I tried not to make them jealous with descriptions of my walk earlier that day but eventually I couldn’t help myself.
I sat down at the point where one beach merges into the other. There were two lads out on a boat, their pace on the water barely faster than mine on the sand. A fisherman or two. Dogs and horses out for a gallop. The odd walker. A great view of Knocknarea and it’s many faces. And the sense of peace was immense.
No need for a mask. No chance of catching COVID out there.
Time passing slowly yet all of a sudden an hour had gone by.
When I got to Strandhill there was peace of a different kind. A few more around, but these days it’s such a treat to see and talk to people. I bumped into my folks, and into two old teammates who are now managing the senior team in Coolera-Strandhill. Making plans for the upcoming season. And I met the man who had the same job when we reached two county finals in the early 2000s.
And we spoke of how we should have won them. Or at least one of them anyway. Still fresh in the mind like they happened yesterday. And I told him of his former player who was turning 40 that day, and that later on I’d be chatting a gang of the lads that played under him as 19 and 20 year olds on what were huge occasions for us. Massive days that stay with us.
And we remarked on how it was strange that two lads who were too young to even play then are now doing his old job, managing the team.
Time passing slowly yet all of a sudden 20 years have gone by.
But a year is made up of days, a day of hours and an hour is made up of moments. And I’m reminded of a phrase I heard from Irish Rugby great Paul O’Connell once.
Win the moment that’s in front of your face.