Garvey’s Score with Cooper in Store

Kerry footballers, Colm Cooper and Donal Daly pictured with pupils at Castleisland Community College with the Sam Maguire Cup almost a month after they defeated Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final by 1-20 to 2-9. ©Photograph: John Reidy 21-10-2004
Kerry footballers, Colm Cooper and Donal Daly pictured with pupils at Castleisland Community College with the Sam Maguire Cup almost a month after they defeated Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final by 1-20 to 2-9. ©Photograph: John Reidy 21-10-2004

The revamped Garvey’s SuperValu here in Castleisland is likely to be packed tomorrow from 12noon to 2pm in particular as Ireland’s most gifted and famous footballer, Colm Cooper will meet and greet his legion of fans there.

Hill and valley dwellers here will converge on the Mill Road store to get an autograph, a photograph, a word or a glimpse of the Gaelic Games super-star from Killarney.

Though the store is in a celebratory mode for the past few days,  as the interior and the grounds outside are undergoing a thorough and ‘preparing for the stations’ like transformation, Saturday is expected to beat all.

Without adding a block or a rafter, the store appears to have gained as much room again as it had since the day Marty Whelan officially opened it back in June of 2005.

The management and staff have issued an open invitation to all to meet the gifted ‘Gooch’ there tomorrow.

To mark the event we have somewhat tailored our ‘Friday Favourite’ look-back this week.

The store is open ! RTE broadcaster and TV personality, Marty Whelan (second from left) cuts through the red tape and announces the brand new Garvey's Castleisland Super-Valu open at 11am on Thursday morning. Included are: from left: Terry Dunne, MD.; Kevin McCarthy, Seamus Kerrisk, manager; Caroline McEnery, human resources manager; Jim Garvey, Tomás Garvey proprietor; Tim Brosnan, Thomas Dillane, assistant manager and Adrian Cahill. ©Photograph: John Reidy 30-6-2005
The store is open ! RTE broadcaster and TV personality, Marty Whelan (second from left) cuts through the red tape and announces the brand new Garvey’s Castleisland Super-Valu open at 11am on Thursday morning. Included are: from left: Terry Dunne, MD.; Kevin McCarthy, Seamus Kerrisk, manager; Caroline McEnery, human resources manager; Jim Garvey, Tomás Garvey proprietor; Tim Brosnan, Thomas Dillane, assistant manager and Adrian Cahill. ©Photograph: John Reidy 30-6-2005

The picture in question was of an amazingly happy occasion when the same Colm Cooper and Kerry’s powerful midfielder at the time, Donal Daly visited the Castleisland Community College with the Sam Maguire Cup in tow.

They had, a few weeks earlier, defeated Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Final and were on a tour of duty in taking Sam out and about to the schools of the county.