Community / Stray football finds its way from Ireland to Shetland
A FOOTBALL from a club in Ireland has been found in Shetland after travelling hundreds of miles in the sea – and it appears it has found a new home in a local multicourt.
It is the latest unusual item to be found on Shetland’s shoreline in recent months after a surfboard lost off the coast of England and a message in a bottle sent from Faroe two decades ago were discovered in the isles.
The football was owned by amateur team Ardmore Rovers, who are based south of Dublin.
It was found by David Brown and his children Christopher, Elizabeth and Vaila when out for a walk in Uyea in January, and thanks to the team name written on the ball he managed to get in touch with the club.
The team reckons the ball would have made its way down the Dargle River before entering the Irish Sea and heading north.
The distance as the crow flies between where the ball was likely lost and Uyea is more than 540 miles, but it would have put in extra distance travelling around the west of Scotland.
It looks like the ball is getting good use by folk in Ollaberry, however, despite its lengthy journey in the sea.
“There’s no plans to send it back as we have been using it in the local multicourt,” David said.
“It is in fairly good shape for the distance it has travelled in the sea.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
