Glory days for Abbeyknockmoy's Cup winner Alan

By JIM CARNEY BRUCE Springsteen's classic song had a bittersweet theme, warning us all that 'Glory days, they'll pass you by;â€Â¨ Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye,â€Â¨ Glory days, glory days' â€â€ but these are days that local soccer star Alan Keane from Newtown, Abbeyknockmoy will never forget. In sport, the words 'Up for the Cup' have a magic that will never die and at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin last Sunday it was one of the great sporting occasions of modern times when Sligo Rovers sensationally defeated Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final, after extra-time and a penalty shoot-out. When it came to the drama and almost unbearable tension of the spot-kicks to decide the outcome, the Sligo hero was a 30-year-old South Mayo man, Ciarán Kelly from Annefield, Hollymount, astonishingly saving all four penalty kicks taken by Shamrocks Rovers â€â€ which must be a record â€â€ while in the midst of it all, two Sligo Rovers' players, Eoin Doyle and Gary McCabe, were hitting the net to win the game. Their two colleagues who were denied with their spot-kicks were Alan Keane (saved) and Conor O'Grady (wide), but that didn't matter at the end of the day: Sligo Rovers were the champions and Alan Keane was a Cup final hero. The two vastly experienced RTE Radio commentators broadcasting their game live, Gabriel Egan and Eoin Hand, gave Alan their Man of the Match accolade, although the official 'gong' (chosen by television analyst Damien Richardson) went to former Cameroon international Joseph Ndo. All that happened in advance of the penalty shoot-out. If the award was decided later it would, of course, have gone to goalkeeper Ciarán Kelly, whose modesty in the post-match celebrations was exemplary, as he found time to consider the feelings of his two team-mates who missed the big match because of suspension, Richie Ryan and Matthew Blinkhorn, and the first-choice Sligo 'keeper Richard Brush who has had injury problems this year. The disappointment of losing last year's FAI Cup final is now wiped out for 26-year-old Alan Keane; this is a big, big moment in his career which started, over a decade ago, playing Gaelic football, hurling and soccer out in Abbeyknockmoy, a sports-mad parish. Alan's had a fantastic 2010, outstanding in the Cup semi-final win over Bohemians, and the newspapers' choice for Man of the Match when Sligo Rovers clinched the EA Sports Cup title with a 1-0 win over Monaghan Utd. This year, too, Sligo have other players with a Galway background, such as Iarfhlaith Davoren and John Russell. Alan Keane's key influences include his Dad, Bernard (who came back West on Monday on the team bus; it was the greatest weekend of his life, he proudly told me); namesakes Michael and John Keane who did a lot for Alan in the early days; Newtown N.S. principals Aidan Nicholson and Vincent Brannelly, teachers and sports coaches at Athenry V.S. and those who helped his career at Mervue Utd and Galway Utd. Behind the scenes, too, are the most important people of all for Alan, his parents Bernard and Mary, sisters Nicola, Lorraine and Amanda, his nephew Keith (a dedicated fan), another 8-year-old great supporter Joey Cosgrove (son of Sgt Joseph Cosgrove, Corofin) â€â€ Keith and Joey were Sligo Rovers mascots at the Cup final â€â€ while Bernard, who has never missed a League of Ireland match in which his son lined out, has paid tribute to the loyalty of his brother-in-law and travelling companion Eric Hussey (from Belclare) who's been with him every hard yard of that long road supporting Alan's quest for sporting glory. Now they've all had their reward.