When eight-year-old Fionn lost his sliotar (hurling ball) while on a summer holiday in Donegal, he thought he had lost it forever.
But when the ball washed up on a Scottish beach eight months later, it’s finder was determined to get it back to it’s owner.
Scottish man Donald Mac Isaac was walking on a beach near his home in Loch Eynort in Scotland on Monday evening when he found the hurling ball.
The sliotar was emblazoned with a name and the crest of Carryduff Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) – a club on the outskirts of Belfast.
“When I picked it up at the beach it had information on it and I thought it looked like something personal to someone because it had a name on it,” said Donald.
“I thought it might be worth finding out where the ball came from.”
Donald got in touch with the Carryduff club which was able to contact the sliotar’s original owner, eight-year-old Fionn O’Neill.
Fionn is a member of the club and was awarded the ball because he was able to do three roll lifts in a row – a skill in which the hurling stick is rolled over the sliotar before it is flicked up into the hand.
“The ball was special to me because I won it,” the boy said.
Fionn lost the ball on a beach while he was on holiday with his family in Donegal last July.
“I was playing with it and hitting it against a rock. It went over the rock and we couldn’t find it. It got lost in a bush.”
He added: “I was shocked it turned up in Scotland – I didn’t think it could end up there. I was happy it turned up because it’s like a souvenir.”
Donald is a fluent Scottish Gaelic speaker and said he was able to recognise that the ball was related to Irish Gaelic.
“I’ve heard of hurling, which is similar to shinty that they play in Scotland.
“I felt it was important to contact the club as the owner’s name was on the ball which made it a bit more personal.
“And to find out who the owner was is quite special,” he said.
Donald Mac IsaacDonald said he is open to the idea of Fionn and his family travelling to Scotland in person to reunite them with the ball.
Fionn’s mother, Donna Fisher, said they would be willing to make the trip and cannot believe the sliotar has travelled so far: “In our family we lose so many balls with hurling – but they don’t always have a name on it – it gives it a special meaning.”
“I think we might have to take Donald up on his offer of going to Scotland to get the ball, and teach him a bit about hurling.”
Fionn said despite already losing the sliotar once he is going to continue playing with it when he finally gets it back from Scotland.
“I’m hoping to get it back again. I probably will play with it again – I’m not worried about losing it again as I already know how it feels to lose it.”
