Belfast Telegraph

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Mickey's bond with Michaela can ease pain

Published 13/01/2011

I am writing to you as I have no way of contacting Mickey Harte.

Like everybody, I want to express my sincere sympathy at the tragic loss of his daughter. Beyond doubt, they had a very special father/daughter relationship and I hope Mickey can take some comfort from this over time.

From seeing media photographs and from memory of TV footage after winning All-Irelands, they and their achievements meant so much to them. They appeared inseparable.

I have a daughter aged 17, and we both love going to GAA matches together.

We will never achieve the pinnacles of what Mickey and his daughter did, but I can fully relate to the bond that Mickey and his daughter had and the loss it now presents.

I can only imagine the trauma that the Harte and McAreavey families are going through now, but if it's any help everyone in the GAA community is praying and thinking of them.

GAA has become very competitive and almost professional but the passion is unparalleled. But, that's what makes GAA the special sport that it is.

Mickey Harte and his family have embraced this ethos and passion and have shown themselves to be people of class and dignity.

At times, this passion can boil over but this indicates how strongly people feel about their belonging to a community and what they can achieve together.

I and my daughter support Dublin and long for success, with many tears shed when it didn't happen.

Mickey Harte has delivered this success with the support of his family and should take some solace that his daughter enjoyed the moments that they had strived for together.

The pictures of Mickey and his daughter after victory and defeat are an eternal memory to her place in his heart.

Dave Collins


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