THE ALL-IRELAND final’s opening act featured a cameo by an injured seagull, which remained on the pitch for nearly 25 minutes with a hurt wing.
As Galway attacked Croke Park’s Canal End, the seagull was visible just inside the Armagh half, moving cautiously along the surface.
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In an arena known for the swarms of seagulls flying around the stands, it was unusual to see a bird on the turf.
RTE commentator Darragh Maloney soon explained that it had injured its wing, which explained how gingerly it trudged along the grass.
Play continued as the gull slowly made its way from the Canal End down beyond midfield and into the other half of the pitch.
Amazingly, there came no unfortunate collisions between the roving stars of each side as the play began to swing from end to end.
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The seagull finally exited the field of play as an Armagh attack went into the right corner forward position close to where it had been loitering for a long time near the sideline.
Thankfully, Off the Ball’s GAA correspondent Tommy Rooney captured footage of an official rescuing the bird:
In total, it took 24 minutes for the bird to leave the action, and social media was filled with both concern and jokes for poor creature.
One fan said: ‘10 years ago he’d already have a Twitter account @CrokeParkSeagull or something”
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As if on cue:
Another said: “Croke Park seagull looking for a pass out wide”
Another hilariously mused: “I hope that seagull on the Croke Park pitch with the broken wing, is the little f***er that stole my wrap on O’Connell Street a few months ago.”
The little birdie could watch from a safe distance as Armagh lifted their second ever Sam Maguire in a razor thin one-point victory over Galway.
