Two lifelong Tyrone GAA fans are on a quest to secure All Ireland Football Final tickets after meeting while in hospital last year.
Michael McGill, from Aughabrack, and Joan Maguire, from Omagh, met while they were in Belfast City Hospital last year while awaiting kidney transplants at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic and bonded over their love for the Red Hand county.
Now with Tyrone making it to the All Ireland Final after a dramatic extra-time victory over Kerry on Saturday, Michael has made an emotional plea for anyone who might be able to provide a ticket for the pair.
Michael and Joan have regularly met up to watch Tyrone matches in each others’ houses but they are keen to attend the real thing on September 11 in Croke Park.
Michael, 29, said he had been near death after he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease before undergoing a transplant but now needs another one.
Michael told MyTyrone: “I took kidney disease and had a really bad time, I was literally near death before they were able to get things sorted.
“I was on dialysis for a short time and then I got a kidney transplant and it’s whenever I was in hospital for that I met Joan.
“Both of us struck up a relationship together and we went to games but we haven’t been able to go to any recently as we haven’t been able to get tickets.
“My kidneys have failed again because of the disease I have has come back, so I am waiting for another transplant.
“I could be on dialysis for the rest of my life and really they say 10 years is as long as you can survive on dialysis.”
Michael added that himself and Joan, who is in her 50s, have seen their friendship grow since they left hospital and getting to Croke Park would be a massive deal for them.
He said: “Our friendship has really grown, I speak to Joan on the phone every day and we just keep each other going.
“We’ve become really good friends, and it’s good to have someone else that’s in the same situation and to be able to talk to somebody about it.
“We are prepared to pay for the tickets, it’s not like we would want them for free. As long as we’re there on that day that’s all that matters.
“It would be a dream come true. The last big Tyrone game I was at was the 2008 All Ireland Final was with my late father and I haven’t really been at Croke Park since.
“My health took a toll after that and just haven’t been able to get down at all.
“It would mean a great deal for myself and Joan just to be there and to cheer the team on.”
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