Comment: Sporting success lifts our hearts

Where would we be without it? The bit of sport that is. The drama and excitement it provides; the distraction from the daily grind; the pride and yes, sense of hope it provides; the nourishment for the soul.

Just how important sport is to our lives was underlined in the way we missed it so much during the pandemic when, for a time, the world stood still. In the past week or so those of us fortunate enough to live in this part of the world have had reasons to be cheerful about the exploits of our sporting heroes. Take the Meath women's senior football team for example. What they have managed to do is nothing short of phenomenal.

Once they struggled in the lower regions of the game. Now Meath is a real superpower in women's football. They won the All-Ireland IFC towards the end of last year and now they are in the All-Ireland SFC final.

The manner of their victory over Cork in the semi-final last Sunday will have gladdened the hearts of many Meath folk who watched or listened to the game - at home or abroad. Downbeaten and downtrodden they looked out for the count but they hit back with two late goals to force extra-time. Having earned a reprieve Eamonn Murray's side pushed on to win.

To those of a certain vintage the comeback will have brought back memories of another time, another era, when Meath teams, no matter how much they were behind could never be considered truly beaten; not until the final whistle. There was always the chance that they would come back, and invariably they did.

Nobody should underestimate what that means to people; that sense of pride it gives them - and the joy.

Those who watched on TV the Mayo v Dublin game last Saturday would have seen that kind of happiness as the camera focused on the faces of the Mayo supporters in the stands as their team beat the odds and claimed a cherished victory. That's priceless.

Other Meath teams have engendered a sense of pride in recent weeks. The u-20 hurlers won an All-Ireland title last week. A cynic might point out it was 'only' a B final but it will be cherished by those involved.

This weekend Meath are in an All-Ireland MFC semi-final against Sligo, there's a chance for glory there, and the camogie team take on Derry in an All-Ireland quarter-final.

All those teams carry the hopes of the people they represent. They say it's the hope that kills - but it's also hope that sustains us.