AFTER their father suddenly fell ill during an Allianz League match at Austin Stack Park, it's hard to imagine that three young Kerry fans were about to have an unforgettably enjoyable evening.
On Saturday, while watching his side's victory over Galway, Kerry supporter Geoff O'Mahoney suffered a heart attack and had to be rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick.
He had taken his young son (10), his nephew (11) and their friend (11) to the match, and they had to remain in the stadium where they were cared for by members of An Garda Síochána along with Kerry GAA officials.
After the final whistle, Kerry boss Peter Keane heard about the incident and delayed his post-match press conference to invite the three young boys into the dressing room to join in the celebrations.
The entire Kerry squad were on hand to sign autographs and pose for photos with the youngsters, while they waited for another family member to arrive and pick them up.
Huge shout out to these guys and @Kerry_Official @LeonaTwiss @KSpillane96 @tadhgmorley @GardaTraffic Dr Rice P. Keane stewards and medical staff in ASP for looking after these 3 young templenoe and kerry supporters when their dad took ill @kervgal Saturday evening @Slyone1069 pic.twitter.com/PBfwenZvZ9
— Eddie o Sullivan (@eddieabu) February 3, 2020
Geoff remained in hospital over the weekend but has since been discharged and is now on the road to recovery.
He explained that he realised something was wrong when he couldn't catch his breath after running to the stadium.
"We were a bit late for the game in Tralee. We had to run as the match had started," he told the Irish Examiner.
"For the last 100 metres or so I stopped and I knew it was more than being out of breath from the running - I just couldn’t catch my breath.
"I struggled to get into the ground and once we got in I immediately went up the four gardaí on duty and told them that I was in serious trouble.
"They immediately brought me under the stand and I was quite fortunate that there were five of six medical personnel on duty."
Geoff's wife Sarah, who rushed to hospital after hearing the news, thanked everyone who made the situation easier for her husband and son.
"We cannot ever express enough thanks to everyone involved on the night, from the Gardaí, the ambulance staff and paramedics, the Kerry officials, Peter Keane and the Kerry players," she said.
"In a way, Geoff was in the right place at the right time given all the support that was there and within two hours he was undergoing surgery.
"It was the worst night of my husband’s life - and the best night for the boys."
