There were smiles, laughter and fists held high among the Tipperary supporters following the county’s All-Ireland hurling final in Dublin’s Croke Park on Sunday.
Anthony Nagle, from Clonmel but now living in Dublin, said he had “not a single complaint left” following the definitive win by the Tipperary team.
“Cork didn’t expect it. They are known to be a little bit arrogant. But their game didn’t turn up today,” he said.
John O’Dwyer, a brother of Ryan O’Dwyer the former player for Tipperary and Dublin, said he was delighted. “Lots of heart” was his explanation for the Tipperary win. “The team had lots of heart.”
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Joe Bourke, enjoying a celebratory post-match drink in the noted Tipperary people’s pub Chaplin’s on Hawkins Street, said he put the Tipperary team’s performance down to the number of young people in the squad who had “energised the whole team”.
However, the Cork supporters were not so cheerful, as might be expected. “Gutted” was the response from Togher man Gavin Barrett when The Irish Times stopped him on the street. He said he felt the initially successful performance by the Cork team had little substance to it. “I felt it was nothing. Then the second half – complete collapse.” Taylor Keating, who was with him, said she too felt the Cork performance was lacking.
Dermot Crowley from Douglas said of course he was “disappointed”. He said he had not bought into the pre-match “talk” that Cork would win fairly easily. “I felt everyone was a little frightened of Tipp in the background.”
Earlier, Dublin’s Talbot Street had been a sea of blue and gold on Sunday morning as Tipp fans gathered for the annual commemoration of War of Independence veteran Seán Treacy in advance of the final.
Hundreds gathered at the memorial for the Soloheadbeg republican who was killed in a shoot-out with Crown forces in October 1920.
The sea of Tipp colours was not matched elsewhere, however, as from midday, the rest of the city teemed with one colour: red.
John and Mark Swann from Doneraile were with a large group of Cork supporters outside Mulligan’s pub on Poolbeg Street, and said it was clear the Rebels had come to town. They travelled to Dublin on Saturday and were not going home until Monday. The father and son team and the wider group had no doubt whatsoever that Cork would prevail in the final.
“Ten points. Cork will win by 10 points,” said Mark.
Also relaxed about the supremacy of the Cork team were Donal Murphy, Freddie Sweeney, Ian O’Brien, Conor Curran, Jack Hannon, Steven Davern and Gary Sweeney, as they posed for photographs and enjoyed a prematch drink before walking to Croke Park.
Some 50 yards away outside Chaplin’s bar, a group of supporters were equally happy, if not as confident. Jack Keating noted the county was on the “back foot” when it came to winning the All-Ireland. “We are so far back I don’t even know what is forward any more,” he joked.
Around the corner on D’Olier Street and up O’Connell Street, the scale of the number of Cork fans became apparent as a tide of red swept along.
By rough estimate, the crowds of Cork supporters outnumbered the Tipperary supporters by at least 20 to one.
Tourists wheeling bags looked on as fans waited, five and six deep, at traffic lights. Street vendors selling “flags, hats and ponchos” mingled with those holding signs aloft calling for “tickets needed”.
Music blared from Cassidy’s and the Belvedere hotels as the sea of red – with occasional dots of blue and gold – swept by to the beat of a bodhrán and chants of “Re-bels, Re-bels”.
On the corner of North Circular Road, Shay and Chloe Butler were dressed in the blue and gold Tipperary colours but were downbeat about the county’s chances. Shay, originally from Gortnahoe and now living in Dublin, said Tipperary fans seemed to accept that their team faced a difficult task in beating Cork.
“It is more exciting when Dublin are playing,” said Chloe, who added that she was “always a Dub”.
