Tribute by Adrian Hession
Adrian Freeman (24) was born in March 1986, the second child of Seamus Freeman (Kinagha, Tooreen) and Ita Robinson. Adrian was the second of three children and has an elder sister Louise, who is 28 and is a doctor based in Galway. His younger brother Cathal (20), is an intercounty dual-star who is currently a student at the National University of Ireland in Galway. Hurling was in Adrian's blood from the start as his father Seamus, along with uncles Eamon and Michael, represented Tooreen for many years throughout the 70's and 80's. His mother Ita is a public health nurse and Seamus is a builder.
Adrian commenced his education in Tooreen NS in 1991 before going onto Ballyhaunis Community School in 1999. He later attended Limerick IT between the years 2004 and 2009, where he qualified as a Civil Engineer.
It was during is time in Tooreen NS that his love of sport flourished and as a seven-year-old, commenced hurling with the Tooreen Hurling Club under the coaching of Jackie Coyne. He also commenced football with Aghamore GAA club around this time and could easily adapt to both sports. Adrian also played compeitive soccer throughout his youth and had trials with clubs in Dublin and overseas with Leeds United.
But hurling was his first love and he first came to prominance with the Connacht Colleges Hurling touring party to North America as a 16 year-old in 2002, where he mixed his skills with many future Galway intercounty hurlers. In the same year, he made his Tooreen Senior debut before going on to win his first and only Mayo Senior Hurling Championship medal as a 17-year-old in 2003. As a Minor in 2004 he made his debut for the Mayo Senior hurlers playing on the Mayo side which went down to Kildare in the All-Ireland Senior 'B' hurling championship final in Croke Park. He also won 2 Connacht U21B hurling titles along the way, aswell as numerous underage club titles with Tooreen. He became a regular in the Mayo setup under managers Gerry Spelman, Frank Browne and Martin Brennan and was Mayo's most consistent player in 2008 and 2009 in their march to the Christy Ring Cup semi-finals. In 2009 he was awarded a Christy Ring All-Star for his displays in the Tier 2 championship. In 2005 he won an All-Ireland Hurling Seven's title in Kilmacud Crokes - a competition in which Adrian stood out in his purest form as an all round hurler.
On the football field, he had a lively underage career with Aghamore. His 'Twinkle Toed' fast feet was abbreviated to the name 'Twink' - a name which stuck with him throughout his career. He played Ted Webb Cup for Mayo in 2002, and in the following year he was part of a successful Aghamore Minor side which reached the Mayo Minor 'A' final before being beaten by a strong Castlebar Mitchels side in Garrymore. In 2004 he was part of the Aghamore Junior panel which won the Mayo Junior title against Ballina'B', while four years later in 2008, he starred at corner forward as Aghamore beat Kilmaine in the IFC final to return to Senior football for the first time since 1990. He will be best remember for Aghamores third goal in their 3-5 to 1-9 win over Kilmaine - as his famous Twinkle Toes chipped the ball over the advancing Kilmaine custodian to seal victory for Aghamore.
But the pinacle of Adrian's career came courtesy of his selection on the Connacht Hurling side in March 2009 for the Interprovincials. The final that year was held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as part of a sponsorship deal aimed at rejuvenating the Interprovincial Championship. Connacht went down to Leinster on that day, but the weeklong tour of the Middle East with the cream of Irelands hurlers (the Connacht and Leinster teams travelled together), gave Freeman a chance to rub shoulders with the best in the business. A Hurling/Shinty U21 International appearance in Inverness in 2007 was also recorded along his career, while trips to London and Birmingham with club and county were also encountered. Numerous other individual awards came along including Tooreen Hurler of the Year and Mayo Hurler of the Year, as the trophy cabinet began to mount up.
It was this appetite for travel which drew Adrian to Melbourne (Australia) in October of 2009, to work away the winter months. There he linked up with members and friends of the Tooreen and Aghamore clubs, which had congregated in Melbourne throughout the previous few years. Adrian had planned to stay in Australia for a year, and was working on the construction of the Barwon Heads Bridge sixty miles south of Melbourne. On Saturday 29th May 2010, his life was cut short. On returning from work that Saturday afternoon, a car in which he was travelling, was in a head on collision with another vehicle which veered over to the wrong side of the road. The tragic news of Adrians passing reached Tooreen and Mayo - a community and county now in shock.
Sense can't be put on Adrians passing. My only conclusion is that the man above was picking his championship team - and he had the number fifteen jersey in his hand looking for his best option. He needed a man who was a leader first and foremost, and who could handle pressure on the big day. He needed a man who could win his own ball and make use of it. He needed dedication, commitment and pride of place. He needed someone who would encourage all around him to be there best - and not to look down on less talented team-mates. He needed a freetaker and he needed a goalgetter. On 29th May 2010, Adrian Freeman was picked at left corner forward on the eternal team in the sky.
