Unfancied counties such as Wicklow, Leitrim, and Monaghan could be winning the All-Ireland senior football championship as early as next year, if a plan by the GAA comes to fruition.
It probably won't be the real championship. But on the Sony Playstation version, at least, anything will be possible. And a deal signed yesterday in Melbourne means that the virtual GAA experience could be in the shops by next summer.
Provisionally titled "Gaelic Football 2004," the computer game will feature all county teams, playing at provincial venues as well as Croke Park, with "live" commentary. Competitions will include the National League, provincial championships, and the All-Ireland series. Team tactics, such as the notorious "blanket defence", can be factored in, and the programme will also offer training sessions.
The initiative is backed both by the GAA and Sony, and will be developed by a company called IR Gurus, using the games engine already devised for Australian Rules football. A Sony spokeswoman in Dublin said it was expected that the images of real GAA stars will be used.
But at a contract signing ceremony in the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday, GAA president Mr Sean Kelly said the question of image rights had not yet been explored.
Per head of population, Ireland is the world's second biggest user of PlayStations, behind only Japan. Already, 380,000 Playstation 2 consoles have been sold here, and Sony predicts that number will reach 480,000 by the time the planned GAA game goes on sale next year.
The CD is expected to sell for about €63. Mr Kelly said the initiative would bring GAA "to a new worldwide market, and puts us up on the international stage with other games".
Mr Niall O'Hanrahan, of Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland, said the project would cost "hundreds of thousands of euro" to develop.