Green giants
» County colours fly across Limerick ahead of decider » Treaty men fans swap terraces for their living rooms
LIMERICK has turned green and white in honour of its hurling soldiers who march into battle against Waterford for All- Ireland glory tomorrow.
The C ovid -19 pandemic has silenced the feeding frenzy for match tickets due to a ban on supporters attending the game, in line with public health guidelines.
While the virus will deaden the atmosphere at Croke Park, the home fires on Shannonside are still burning in anticipation of a second Limerick All- Ireland win in three years.
Homes and business across the Treaty City and County have been decorated in bunting, f lags, jerseys, and paint in answer to a rallying call from local public health, Garda and council officials for fans to show their support from a safe distance.
However, for some the unprecedented times have impacted those closest to the players.
Sean Lynch, father of All Star Limerick hurler Cian Lynch, said he was “disappointed” at not being able to share the biggest day in hurling with his son.
The retired detective and former Fianna Fail Limerick metropolitan mayor said :“It’ s bitter sweet, it’ s low- key, it’s not the norm, you want to be there, smell the atmosphere, you want to be able to almost touch the grass, shout and roar.”
ALLOWED
He added players’ parents have played a “huge role” ensuring their sons have remained Covid- free so that hurling can survive the pandemic and therefore “should be allowed attend the match”.
Mr Lynch said: “We have all been in a bubble and surely to God four or five members of each of the players’ families should be able to attend a stadium to accommodate over 80,000 people, but it’s not happening.”
He will watch his son play on television at their family home in Patrickswell. There are also “mixed emotions” for the Lynch family after Cian’s uncle Paul Carey, a Patrickswell GAA stalwart, died in a road crash in Dubai last month.
Mr Lynch said: “It will be extra emotional because of Cian losing his uncle and my wife Valerie losing her brother, but all we can do is wish all the players the very best – they are heroes.”
Finishing on a positive note, Mr Lynch said if Limerick bring back home the Liam Maccarthy Cup, “it wil l be t he best- e ver Chri stmas present for all the players, their families, their clubs, and their county”.
As the excitement of tomorrow drew nearer, local businessman John Fitzgerald was busy colouring the city centre in giant green Limerick f lags.
Standing in front of one of the 12m x 9m shrines, he said: “There was a rallying call to green up the city, so we have obliged.”
“We gave out 5,000 f lags in Croke Park for the 2018 semi- final to try to green the place up but we ended up getting on the wrong side of the Croke Park officials a little bit, but sure we won’t mind t that – they gave out to us as we were not supposed to do what we did but sure we got away with it.”
Pat Carroll, a caretaker in his local sports hall in Croom, was preparing his famous sombrero which he has showed off on the terraces over 20 years supporting Limerick.
Hopeful of a win, he said: “I think there’ ll be nothing between the two teams but I think Limerick will shade it by two or three points.” Mr Carroll, or “The Bog” as he’s affectionately known, has become so famous among the hurling masses that he recently appeared as himself in a video of a fake All- Ireland Final staged on the Main Street in Croom in which the Treaty men romped home to victory over the Deise.
The lure of All-Ireland final day attracts all codes and creeds to offer their support for their county team heading into battle for the biggest prize in GAA.
Team Limerick Clean-Up, an initiative funded by Limerick philanthropist and hurling obsessive JP Mcmanus, who al so sponsors Limerick GAA, has tweeted videos of stars from the Limerick 1973 AllIreland winning team, offering their support for a victory tomorrow.
Irish rugby legend Paul O’connell, a business partner of Mcmanus, who had a promising hurling career in front of him until rugby took over, also offered his praise to the current crop of Limerick stars.
He told them: “You’ve been such a pleasure for us all to watch over the
l a s t number of years, your skill , profe s si onali sm , absolute bloodymindedness when you play is a real joy to watch and makes us all so proud to be from Limerick.”
Meanwhile, Ireland’s biggest f lag was f lying yesterday from the battlements of a medieval castle in the h e ar t of Li merick as t h e t e am prepares for tomorrow.
Workers used a cherry picker to unfurl the gi ant 25ft x 50ft Treaty banner i n King Jo hn’s Castl e i n Kilmallock town , which is home to five c o u n t y h u r l e r s , including star forward Graeme Mulcahy.
Former Li merick pl ayer Mike Houlihan, who i s from Kilmallock, said excitement has been building.
He added: “It’s a massive f lag, about 50ft x 25ft. It ’s eye- catching of f h a n g i n g f r o m t h e c a s t l e .” Th e publican, who runs the 41 Houlihan’s bar in Kilmallock, was also stopping traf f i c with hi s green and white painted van covered in hurleys which doubles up as the colours for both his club and his county.
He said: “I get plenty of beeps”.
And he urged fans to follow the example of the Limerick players in adhering to Covid- 19 regulations.
Mr Houlihan said: “The bottom l i ne i s people have to di sciplin e themselves.”