Legacy.
When all is said and done, it’s all anyone can hope to leave behind.
Aaron Devlin has left an everlasting legacy in Ballinderry.
A young man with a smile as bright as his talent. A family man with wit as sharp as his turn. A friend as loyal as his commitment to the Shamrocks.
‘Dook’, as they call him, was taken far too soon from this earth. In July last year, his sudden passing after a severe bout of meningitis rocked the whole of the GAA world and it left a void on Derry’s loughshore that would never be filled.
But Aaron Devlin will live on forever in the hearts and minds of Ballinderry Gaels.
The moments clapping in @CrokePark for Aaron Devlin has just brought tears to everyone in @BallinderryGAC @Doiregaa @UlsterGAA #Azzatribute
— Stephen McGeehan (@mcgeehanstephen) August 1, 2015
Tomorrow's Derry Post pays tribute to Aaron Devlin and how he enriched the lives of others, on and off the pitch pic.twitter.com/ElpzLCFOaw
— Cahair O'Kane (@CahairOKane1) August 3, 2015
And, in a fitting tribute to a wing forward who’d spread you on toast given half the chance, the club have named their new 4G pitch after him and erected a wall in his honour.
On it, an iconic image from the 2012 Derry final that will inspire the next generation and serve as a bond between Dook and the club that loved him so well.
GAA club paints mural in memory of Aaron Devlin in today's @irish_news https://t.co/aOJIWqKJKR pic.twitter.com/rqsMQOgOCV
— Connla Young (@ConnlaYoung) August 3, 2016
Love this, well done @BallinderryGAC – special tribute. pic.twitter.com/dgF689MGXY
— Brendan McTaggart (@bmct123) August 3, 2016
Tomorrow, life goes on at Shamrock Park. But it’s only right that it goes on under the watchful eye and the affable presence of a legend.
It’s only right that the footballers of tomorrow learn their trade on the Aaron Devlin Pitch.
Listen to The GAA Hour podcast with Colm Parkinson and Paul Galvin below. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.
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