The Sligo footballers claimed silverware at Croke Park on Saturday evening, as they overcame Wicklow in the Allianz Football League Division 4 final, on a score-line of 2-10 to 0-14.
One year on from the tragic passing of Yeats County star Red Óg Murphy, captain Niall Murphy took the chance to pay tribute to his teammate in his acceptance speech.
“We lost a very special person last year in Red Óg Murphy,” Murphy said on the steps of the Hogan Stand. “He left a huge legacy in Sligo football. We all miss him dearly. A lot of the lads down there do as well. This one is for Red.”
It was a deserved victory for Tony McEntee’s charges after a strong second-half display, and they will go up to Division 3 next season.
But focus now turns to the Connacht Championship, and they have a real chance of reaching the Nestor Cup final which would ensure a place in the Sam Maguire Cup this summer.
They travel to London next weekend for the provincial quarter-final, with the winner facing Leitrim or New York in the semi-final.
Murphy was full of praise for the Garden County after Sligo’s win, as they now look ahead to the summer campaign.
“Just to Wicklow. From where you came down from, to Division 4 to go straight back says a lot about ye,” he said. “We had a good battle a couple of weeks ago and again today. Although the weather didn’t serve us right, we put on a good spectacle today. Division 4 sometimes gets put down a little bit, but I think we did it justice today given the weather.
“We’ve another trip next week out in London that will hopefully go well as well.”
