The spiritual home of Galway football was illuminated last night by over £20,000 worth of fireworks as Tuam turned out in force to welcome home the new All-Ireland champions.
Just hours after the maroon heroes had carried the cup across the Shannon, they were welcomed back to Tuam where 13 of them attended school at the footballing nurseries of St Jarlath's and St Patrick's colleges.
Fifteen thousand fans made the journey to Athlone to greet the team as they got out of their coach and walked across the bridge carrying the Sam Maguire over the river for the first time in 32 years.
At Ballinasloe, over 20,000 fans packed into St Michael's Square to welcome home the team but in order to stick to their schedule only captain Ray Silke, manager John O'Mahony and, of course, Sam Maguire left the coach to be introduced to the crowd.
After that they travelled to the tiny village of Caltra, home of Tomas and Declan Meehan and here the footballing brothers were driven through the village in a horse-drawn carriage.
However in Tuam, over 30,000 people brought traffic to a standstill on the N17 for the homecoming celebrations which saw the town rocking until the early hours of this morning.
Every roof tile in the town centre must have lifted when the bus finally came down the Dublin Road and captain Silke lifted the cup aloft. Moments after they arrived in the town special-effects engineers at Tuam stadium triggered off what was described as one of the most spectacular displays of fireworks ever seen in the west.
Soaring 600 feet in the sky, the fireworks, which were financed by local publicans, could be seen as far as 10 miles away.
"It's a bit like the Pope's visit but better because he was in Galway only 20 years ago. Sam hasn't been here in three decades," said a local shopkeeper.
Every window and vantage point in the town was taken up by the revellers all vying to get a look at the team, who train and play all their home games in the Tuam stadium.
Tuam, which boasts to being the smallest city in the world because of its 11th-century role as capital of Ireland and seat of Rory O'Connor, the last high king, had been embroiled in a row with Galway city over the right to stage the final stop on the homecoming but last night both venues were satisfied. The team were due to travel on to Galway after their Tuam reception.
There was a special roar in Tuam for local footballer Ja Fallon, a postman in the town who missed his daily round yesterday as he recovered from another star performance which drove Galway to victory.
In Mac's bar, the pub operated by goalkeeper Martin McNamara, the regulars were starting without the landlord.
"He might stop every ball kicked at him on the football pitch, but even Mac won't stop the town from going crazy tonight," said Noel Lambert. "It is great for the area. Tuam has known its dark days but now everyone is on a high. It's as if the whole town was given a massive dose of Viagra," he said.