Support for Féile O'Sullivan 'absolutely phenomenal' says Ollie Rue O'Sullivan

In every corner of the GAA, there’s always one thing that separates it from every other sport, the sense of belonging.

For all the modern trappings and the creeping in of professionalism, it remains an amateur game at heart, rooted in place and people. And nowhere is that more evident than on the tip of the Beara Peninsula, where a community has wrapped its arms around one of its own.

So when Féile O’Sullivan, a young girl from Allihes – Garnish GAA territory – lost both of her legs in a tragic farming accident, her community rallied behind her and have been doing everything they can to support her. So began the “StandForFéile” campaign.

For Garnish chairman and former Cork footballer Ollie Rue O’Sullivan, the outpouring of support – not only across Cork but from far beyond – came as no surprise.

“No, no surprise,” he said, speaking at the launch of their next effort to support Féile, a two-day Golf Classic at Kenmare, set for April 17 and 18 next year. “But look, I think everybody's touched by the fact that she's only a young girl and I think people have kids and they've seen the misfortune of the accident and stuff.

“Everybody felt a connection with the story and I think everybody wanted to help and we opened the door for the support.

“And to be fair, we've got it from the farming community and the GAA community, and everybody in general.

“It's been absolutely massive, the support that we've got from everybody, but the GAA community in general has been absolutely phenomenal,” he explained. “When we started this in the end of July, we got a couple of shoutouts, started I think by Sean O'Donoghue and then Pat Ryan and John Cleary came on board, and then it spread all over the country.

“We've had it all the way around the country and it's been absolutely unbelievable.

“And today, to see some of the names and the guys and the characters in the room to come on board and to organise this golf classic for a little girl in our parish is absolutely huge.” Already, more than €750,000 has been raised for Féile’s recovery fund. The hope now is to push past the €800,000 mark, with the Golf Classic in Kenmare, as club secretary Cormac McMahon explained.

“That's the target €50,000 at the moment,” he said. “I think it's entirely doable.

“Barry Coffey's already said there's been a large number of teams have expressed an interest in playing, so we don't see, you know, a big problem in recruiting teams. Prizes are amazing, you’ve All-Ireland tickets, and really it's for a cause that's inescapable, really.

“And it's great to see the GAA community really coming together on both sides of the border. Maureen, Féile’s mother, her family are from the Kerry side of the Beara Peninsula, so there's strong connections both sides, so it'll be a fantastic event over two days.” It’s been a long road already for Féile, and there’s still a long way to go. But recent news has been positive, and there’s a chance she may even make it home for Christmas.

“She’s been in hospital since early July,” McMahon said. “Transferred up to Crumlin in Dublin very early on since the accident occurred and she's gone through a tough road, over 60 surgeries now to date.

“A lot of them were, very serious surgeries, minimum 12, 16 hours. She sometimes jokes, you know, a minor surgery is three or four hours. So it is a really difficult time.

“But thankfully, we're beginning to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, she's beginning to sit up in a chair, so she's regaining core strength and there's a possibility now that at some point in the near future, she'll be able to get home for a short period before she returns then to Dun Laoghaire where she'll undertake her rehab.

“So realistically, we don't see her being permanently home until mid-next year at the earliest.”