COLUMN: The Leinster Leader heads to Croke Park for a busman's holiday
Tommy Callaghan recalls his visit to Croke Park to see The Kingdom tackle The Dubs with the latter suffering an all too familiar injustice
A bit of a bus man’s holiday was the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final, The Kingdom and The Dubs, and leaving all the fuss and bother aside, it was a great occasion.
Don’t often get an opportunity these days to head to Croker (or anywhere) without a peann luaidhe, not to mention the auld laptop.
So having secured a ticket, eventually, off we go on Sunday morning, a bit giddy, like a youngster heading to Headquarters for the first time.
Met a few familiar faces at the station.
The chat was all about football, both what happened the previous day, what might happen on this day, with a little bit of conversation on Kildare (most of which could not be recorded in print).
One buachaill was in buoyant form as he had relieved PP the previous day of a not inconsiderable sum, having placed a wager on Mayo to get over the line … by sixteen points if you don’t mind.
The odds? 40/1. Wow!
And no, I won’t be releasing his identity, suffice to say he was from the ‘top’ of the town, and I doubt if he laid any blocks on Monday!
I wouldn’t mind but his tipping of the gee gees leaves a lot to be desired.
And what a win it turned out for Mayo?
Have no doubt they will give the Green and Gold plenty of it.
And what about the boys from The Garden County?
Talk about coming from off-the-pace.
Shergar would not have come from that far back.
But that’s what belief, what determination, what refusing to lie down and roll over does.
Brilliant for Oisín McConville and did you see the way he celebrated?
The last time that man showed emotion was when his native county lifted Sam for the first time in 2002, along with our forever friend, The Geezer.
Another Leinster side on the up-and-up.
Another county in this province of ours on an upward curve.
Dublin, Louth, Westmeath, Meath and now Wicklow.
And remember there are six counties from Leinster in Division 3 of the AFL come 2027, along with Sligo and Clare.
So nothing easy there!
Walking up to Headquarters I decided to treat myself to a pint of plain, sure why not.
Lloyds of Amien Street seemed like a nice spot.
Dubs everywhere. One lad in the corner singing The Auld Triangle to his heart’s content.
Have to say as good a pint as you could hope to get anywhere.
And at a mere six euros, sure you couldn’t go wrong.
Decided to sample a second, just to see if I was lucky with the first one being so good.
I wasn’t disappointed!
Off I traipsed, felt a bit out of it with no team jersey on board.
Then again Sean Liston of Kerry (and Newbridge) fame, was also in his ‘civies.’
A seat on the 45 line on the bottom of The Hogan was ideal as The Boys in Blue went through their warm-up routine. Off we go.
And before you could really get settled the ball was in the back of the Dublin net, courtesy of himself, David Clifford, even if it did take a penalty save before he buried it.
Dubs though showed they were not here just for the ride.
That early concession did not upset them. All aboard at the break.
Dubs took the lead, Kerry replied with a controversial goal.
Square ball? The mind takes a ramble … 2010.
All-Ireland semi-final, a time when The Lilies were dining at the Top Table. Respected. Real contenders. Held in high regard. God be with the days.
Benny Coulter could have been charged with squatting in the Kildare square. He wasn’t, the goal stood, Down won by two.
Still hurts, so you can imagine how The Dubs feel.
No sign of our own ‘Jimmy The Dub’ since.
Not that I’m getting all gooey for the Boys in Blue.
But the way some folk are going on about it you would think it was the first goal that was scored by a player in the square.
And it won’t be the last, even if they do decide to upgrade the technology.
But be careful now for what you wish for.
Where will it all end?
Just go back to the Armagh v Louth game a few weeks ago. Louth upset the odds, scoring a goal after the hooter was blown.
Well, not exactly, there was no hooter, but the clock had struck 70 minutes before the ball was struck. Not much of a discussion about that though.
If the GAA can’t get a hooter into every county ground in the country I can’t see how they are going to get Hawk Eye in. An upgraded Hawk Eye at that.
But is it fair to have some games played with a hooter and others without?
Is it fair to see some games using Hawk Eye and others don’t?
Anyway, Kerry pushed ahead, had four to spare. Yes it was tough on Dublin.
Then again, they learned nothing from last season’s All-Ireland final when Donegal gave Paudie Clifford the run of Croker. Dublin did the exact same and surprise, surprise, got the exact same result.
Looking forward to Sunday. Hopefully with a ticket. Hopefully a return visit to Lloyds. Hopefully another great occasion. Hopefully a second bus man’s holiday in a fortnight.
Controversy? Hopefully not but I wouldn’t rule it out.
The GAA? Where would we be without it!