A Bit O' Red
July 2018, 5 years since my last trip ‘home’. A little town in the Northwest of Ireland that pretty much no one has ever heard of, yet holds a special place in my heart. Sligo. Last time round, I was a baby faced 16-year-old, just happy to be on a summer holiday. Funnily enough, I’m now a baby-faced 21-year-old who’s also just happy to have a little break, albeit under different circumstances. This is now a solo-trip, one with greater significance than just a regular holiday. 5 years back, I was able to train with Sligo Rovers’ U17 team, an opportunity which at the time was a huge step-up from any of the football I had participated in previously. I was just a boy who loved football, but didn’t really have any ambitions of making something out of it. Sligo Rovers were my Dad’s team, and his Dad’s team and so on and so forth. The small, community club was part of our family and we were a part of the Bit O’Red (Sligo Rovers’ nickname). I had been to countless summer camps in the