The Goats Don’t Shave may have been going to build a wall around old Donegal.
But it sure looks like the men about Fintown took a leaf out of their book and built Sam tall out of the heather way up on the side of Achla Mountain.
The masterpiece by Joseph & Declan Brennan is attracting huge attention with cars and even bus loads stopping to picture the intriguing sight.
Indeed, Joseph explained, that coming off the mountain today for the last time after a week’s work that they were captured by roving BBC1 camera crew.
The letters are all of 70 metres high, the vertical strips five metres wide and the tops eight metres wide to give the effect of lying back into the hill.
“It was a bit of a feat lining it out as when you were up there you couldn’t see the top of a letter from the bottom with the steepness of the ground and as we came over into the end of the M it was disappearing over the horizon even though that is not apparent from the road over a mile away” explained Joseph.
The giant Sam can be seen from three miles away and the lads topped off the exercise with planting a flag on the top of Achla mountain.
Well actually we’re told it’s several flags stitched together and if they survive the Achla gales then fair play to Lorraine and the crew at the Zip Yard, Letterkenny said Joseph!
As the photo shows it’s a pretty good vantage point in Donegal with Errigal, Sliabh Snacht and Muckish clearly visible behind the fluttering flag and off in the other direction the Shallogan Valley leads down to McGuinesses’ hometown of Glenties. On a better day one can even see across Donegal Bay to Croagh Patrick in Mayo from the top of Achla!
Rather coincidentally where Sam first makes a more than life-size appearance in the hills of Donegal is a bare half mile from where he made his LAST appearance in May 1993.
On the night before his return to Croke Park local man and GAA stalwart Jimmy McKelvey arranged to have Sam brought to the house of his neighbour Jimmy Doherty who was then celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary. Let’s hope the shiny, silver Sam is back soon.
As Joseph quipped, “Sure all we want to do is make him feel welcome.
