'There's a great buzz around the parish': Excitement mounting in Cork ahead of All-Ireland final 

Excitement is mounting in Cork ahead of this weekend’s highly anticipated All-Ireland senior hurling final against Clare in Croke Park.

The Rebel County will go head-to-head with the Banner County on Sunday in what is set to be a nail-biting game.

Tickets for the match have been described as being like gold dust, but those who are lucky enough to be making their way to Croke Park this weekend have sold out trains and buses bound for Dublin.

Traffic along the M8 is expected to be heavy as thousands of Cork and Clare fans flock to the capital.

Among those most anticipating the match, however, are the young GAA players at clubs across the city and county.

Children attending Cúl Camps this week were seen donning the Cork colours and chanting ‘C’mon Cork’ and ‘Oh to be a Rebel’ in support of the Cork team.

Mick Nugent, public relations officer of St Vincent’s GAA Club on the northside of Cork city, said the lifeblood of the club is the underage section.

“We have fantastic facilities here at St Vincent’s and we need the kids coming through and the club is doing solid work on that and it’s great to see that when Cork are in the All-Ireland finals and winning All-Ireland finals that inspires young kids too,” Mr Nugent said.

'Huge buzz'

Speaking to the The Echo, chairperson of Inniscarra GAA Liam Linehan said there is a huge buzz in the area.

He said it is an achievement to have a player on the All-Ireland team from the club but that it is “something special” to have Seán O’Donoghue captaining the team.

“There’s a great buzz around the parish and around the club. People are scrambling for tickets — it’s like the loaves and the fishes,” he said.

“It’s a great week for everyone involved in the club.

“We’re getting colours up around houses and around the parish.

“We’re getting all the underage teams to do a little message to shout out best of luck to Seán on Sunday and they’re going out on WhatsApp and social media.

“You can’t look beyond the game on Sunday and while it would be fantastic to win, we’re not allowing ourselves to think that far ahead about celebrations.

“What will be, will be and if it happens, it happens and we’ll put something in motion on Sunday evening if it does happen.

“It’s a great honour for the club and it’s also a huge honour for Seán and his family who are steeped in GAA.”

'A trail of kids surrounding him'

Chairman of the underage section at Blackrock Hurling Club, Dan Cronin, said the club had been lucky enough to have its Cúl Camp kick off following the semi-final, with senior players calling into the club to help with coaching young players.

“We had Alan Connolly in coaching from Tuesday to Friday with the kids.

“Every time he moved from one spot to another there was a trail of kids surrounding him.

“There were hurleys autographed and some had his autograph on the hurley 10 times, every time they saw him they asked him to sign the hurley.

“He got Ciarán Joyce and Robbie Cotter in as well so they worked with each group of kids.”

Mr Cronin said that having a successful Cork team really inspires younger players to pick up the hurley and sliotar.

He said that he is hoping that off the back of the All-Ireland final, they will see more people involved in the Club Championship.

“We want to wish the best of luck to Alan and all the boys from the Rockies Academy,” he said.

'Great role models'

PRO of Glen Rovers GAA, Mary Newman, said the whole club is anticipating Sunday’s final.

“All sections of the club are really looking forward to Sunday and we are hugely proud of Patrick, Robert and Eoin.

“They are great role models for all our young boys and girls and they are frequently here around the club pitch,” she said.

“It’s great for the youngsters to be on the pitch and to see them here and to go out and puck a ball with them.

“Just like these youngsters, they [the senior players] came up through the ranks of our underage section and no doubt dreamed someday of running out onto Croke Park and playing on the biggest stage.”

Connection to the Liam McCarthy Cup 

Treasurer of St Vincent’s GAA Club on the northside of Cork city, Kenneth Collins, said the club has a connection to the Liam McCarthy Cup.

“It has been here twice, once in 1966 and again in 1970 with Paddy Barry as captain which was a fantastic occasion for the northside, for our community and for our club.”

Underage chairperson of the club, Wayne Murphy, said: “It’s hugely important for a club to have players involved with intercounty teams, whether it’s past or present.

“We have over 80 All-Ireland medals in our club, and for a small club on the northside of Cork city it’s absolutely phenomenal.

“They range from minor, under 21, right up to senior hurling All-Ireland medals going back to the days of great legends like Paddy Barry and Christy O’Shea to more modern people like Paddy O’Shea and Amy O’Connor and their skill levels and their anticipation for the game is rubbing off on this generation of kids.”

Gearing-up for big day 

Douglas GAA Club has also had a busy week of events and is gearing up for a family-friendly event at the club on Sunday where the match will be shown on a big screen.

Games promotion officer of Douglas GAA Club, Gavin Webb, said: “When you do have players involved, it’s great and Shane Kingston is very involved and he would come down to the club and sign autographs and whatever you need him to do so it’s absolutely brilliant for both girls and boys in our club.

“I’m trying to have the younger fellas around when training is on with the seniors as well so we have that crossover between the players playing senior and the younger players.”

Mr Webb said he is “immensely proud” of Shane and the Cork team and wished them the best of luck on Sunday.