A primary school in Pomeroy has held a ‘Tyrone Day’ to celebrate the county reaching the All-Ireland final – and send a huge good luck message to its own footballing star.
Pupils at St Mary’s PS pupils all came to class dressed in the county’s red and white colours ahead of tomorrow’s eagerly-awaited clash against Mayo at Croke Park.
The students and staff have spent recent days decking out their school with flags, pictures and banners to show their support for P3 teacher Mark Bradley, a sharp-shooting member of the Tyrone squad.
Three other players – Kieran McGeary, his brother Hugh Pat and Frank Burns – are also past pupils of the school.
Mr Bradley, from Killyclogher, donated a ball and the coveted shirt he wore during the epic semi-final victory over Kerry – both of which have been signed by the team – for a school raffle yesterday.
The children and staff also created a special Tyrone Tik Tok dance routine.
Tina Hinfey, acting principal of St Mary’s, said the day was about “celebrating Tyrone and their adventure”.
“Mr Bradley has spent the week being interviewed by various classes,” she said.
“It was all about football, how he psyches himself up, how he is feeling this week, what his thoughts are when he comes out of the tunnel, his diet and sleep patterns, questions galore.”
She said the money raised through the raffle, which drew a huge response from the school community, will be now used to buy new interactive boards to give pupils the latest IT support.
“The children are just in awe of Mr Bradley and always have been,” she said.
“He is a very modest lad. Very dedicated to his work and his sport. He it totally committed to both.
“The children are buzzing. It has been great coming back after Covid - this has been lovely for the mental well-being and for everyone to enjoy.”
Ms Hinfey said the school is also sending all its best wishes to Frank, Kieran and Hugh Pat, whom she taught herself.
She described them as “totally committed” to both school and sport and said they “haven’t changed”.
Now all the school needs is for Mr Bradley to come back to work next week carrying the Sam Maguire Cup to make it an unforgettable start to the term.
“We have a banner for Mark at the front door,” Mrs Hinfey said.
“This is what the school needed. This was the incentive for our children to come back and be happy. They so needed excitement in their lives.”
