LIAM MacCarthy is on the N17.
“Stone walls and the grass is green…”
Grown men wearing maroon cowboy hats cried on the Hill and their fathers, sons, mothers and daughters did likewise after 29 years of hurt came to an end for Galway.
What a day. What a contest. What an atmosphere. A week after all that Connor McGregor nonsense in Las Vegas, the Deise and the Tribesmen produced genuine sport and a real contest in a break-from-the-norm final that football could do with.
It was always tight, always tense but Galway deserved their win and David Burke lifted the Liam MacCarthy to cap a stunning day for his county.
“This is for clubs, this is for family, this is for the people of Galway,” he roared with a punch of his fist before thanking everyone from the milkman to the fella who gave him a lift home from a night out in Ballinasloe one night.
‘Tony, Tony, Tony’ echoed around Croke Park when he recalled the late, great hero of 1988 Tony Keady.
There was an early indication that yesterday would be a great day for the Tribesmen.
“Up Galway,” says Marty Morrisey with a chuckle as he posed for a pre-game selfie with a lady wearing maroon and white.
It was probably the 100th the popular Clare man had stood for and the affable RTE commentator will have wished both of yesterday’s finalists well many times before the throw-in.
As he skipped out of the lift in Croke Park heading with his game face on, I asked him for a prediction.
“You’d have to go with Galway,” he said, before adding far too diplomatically: “But don’t be surprised if Waterford win it.”
No sooner had Marty gone, than teak tough former Waterford terminator John Mullane popped up wearing a blue and white scarf.
From the start of the season the De La Salle man has predicted a Liam MacCarthy Cup for Galway and then promised to “jump on a horse in the nude and go down the Quays” if Waterford won.
“Well John, have you the saddle on that horse yet?” I asked him, a bit cheekily and standing well back.
“No,” he says.
“Do you regret saying that now?”
“No, why would I? Sure it’s only a bit of craic.”
Earlier, oooohs and ahhhhs and roars of delight and disappointment had filled the Dublin air as we made our way from the packed Clonliffe College playing fields, down Jones’ Road and over to Croke Park.
Waterford fans thronged the streets around the Hogan Stand.
A blue and white sign reading ‘I love me county boy’ caught my eye and I went to take a pic. Next thing I heard a call from behind me: “You dropped something there” and I turned to see my precious match ticket lying on the footpath.
Disaster averted, I picked it up.
“You were lucky there boss,” said two passing stewards.
“We wouldn’t have believed you if you’d tried to get in.”
Anyway, I got in without any more drama in time to watch the end of the climax of the entertaining minor game.
Cork threw everything at it, but Galway won and a spine-tingling roar went up when the final whistle sounded. The youngsters will never forget it as long as they live and they were back out to celebrate with their seniors made it a double by finally breaking down dogged Waterford.
Fireworks went off and streamers covered Croke Park’s hallowed turf as Burke lifted the cup.
It turned out Marty was right and John Mullane won’t have to get all Lady Godiva after all.
