The Day of the Final

We come to it at last. Today is the day of the greatest sporting event of the year, the day we have been waiting for, the event that the eyes of the world will be trained upon. I refer of course to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final which takes place this afternoon at Croke Park in Dublin. Throw-in is at 3.30pm. I’d love to experience the atmosphere of an All-Ireland final in person but it’s an impossible task to get tickets so I’ll be watching the match on TV. Here in Maynooth we get a sample however as many supporters park their cars at the GAA ground in Maynooth and take the train to Drumcondra, which is close to Croke Park. The town will be filled with fans in the green of Limerick or the maroon-and-white of Galway. The All-Ireland Final is every bit as big as the FA Cup Final used to be when I was a kid. I was a little concerned that the Final would be played in sweltering temperatures, but it is a bit cooler today though still sunny. No rain is forecast, but the…