GAA faithful await titanic clash of the ash

As Tipperary and Kilkenny prepare for tomorrow’s All-Ireland Hurling Final supporters of both counties are talking up their chances

THE BORDER between counties Kilkenny and Tipperary is crackling with the kind of tension normally associated with “Hyujeonseon” – the military demarcation line which divides North and South Korea – though without the menace.

At “interface areas”, the profusion of colour proclaims the fierce pride and passion unleashed ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland Hurling Final. Often just a ditch, or a garden fence, separates the blue and gold of Tipperary from Kilkenny’s black and amber.

Mullinahone, a village in Co Tipperary, was the birthplace of Charles Kickham, novelist author of Knocknagow and lyricist of ballads such as Slievenamon and The Moon Behind the Hill which will be sung tomorrow night in licensed premises from Toomevara  to Bansha if the Premier County prevails.

At a little garage on Kickham Street, proprietor Tony Wilson is, quite rightly, suspicious of “a fella wearin’ an expensive sports-coat and tie in the middle of the day”.

He relents, a little, at the mention of The Irish Times and a request for a comment about the build-up to the big match.

“Here’s a man who’d know,” he says and introduces a customer who’s come in “to get a sup of petrol” for the lawnmower. Jimsie Kelly just happens to be the father of Eoin and Paul, two of the county’s star hurlers.

Mr Kelly recalls how “when the lads were four or five” he “bought them hurleys and they used to be floggin’ away goodo outside. That’s where they learned their hurling”. His “other half” is waiting in the car, and, although a gracious Mary Kelly is loath to make a fuss, she admits to being “very proud” of her two sons. The couple will drive to Dublin on Sunday morning along with thousands of others from across the county.

In Kilkenny city centre, an Italian tourist, who could have stepped from the pages of Vogue Uomo, almost gets sliotared after wandering inadvertently into a lunchtime puckaround by a group of schoolboys in the middle of Kieran Street.

On the local radio station, KCLR, a woman tells current affairs presenter Sue Nunn that she’d “had a premonition” of a Kilkenny victory while recovering from an anaesthetic in a hospital operating theatre and dreamt she was on the pitch “standing beside Henry Shefflin”.

You wouldn’t need to be Nostradamus. After all, Kilkenny won last year, and the year before. Oh, and the year before that. And yet the sense of anticipation is as fresh and intense as ever.

Countless “good luck” signs urge the team to complete the fabled “four-in-a-row” consecutive All-Ireland victories.

The team’s training sessions at Nowlan Park have drawn unprecedented crowds. On one evening last week an estimated 7,000 people attended. Car registrations from across the country have been spotted – not spies, but hurling enthusiasts coming to see what many commentators believe is the best team in the game’s history.

But, as the great Cork hurler Christy Ring once said, “The GAA without Tipp is only half-dressed.” Well, they’re back. For a first All Ireland Final appearance since 2001. More than 82,000 have the elusive tickets to Croke Park. For the rest, RTÉ radio and television will broadcast the game live.

Kilkenny and Tipperary last met in the final 18 years ago, and Tipperary won that match by 1-16 to 0-15. Bookmakers don’t expect a repeat performance.

Cork's feat: elusive four-in-a-row

Only one team has ever won four consecutive All-Ireland Hurling finals. Tomorrow, Kilkenny, who have won the last three finals, hope to emulate the unique achievement of Cork who won the title in 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1944. Among those who collected medals for Cork on September 3rd 1944 – and secured legendary status in GAA circles – were Jack Lynch, Christy Ring and Jim Young. The captain was Seán Condon, who died in 2001. There is only one man still alive who played and won medals in all of Cork's "four-in-a-row". Din Joe Buckley (90), was born in the Blackpool area of Cork city in 1919, educated at the North Monastery School and joined the Glen Rovers GAA club. He was a star player for the county throughout the 1940s and won five All-Ireland medals in total.