Diary of a Dub

Say it loud and sing it proud…..

Get up the yard’ is an expression I remember vividly as a child. It’s from another generation but it is uniquely Dublin. My Dad’s generation. It’s always stuck with me, I can’t say I ever use it nowadays, but it’s certainly never far from my thoughts. It’s that verbal or mental kick-in-the-arse to get you to do something, or it’s a statement of disbelief. Either has relevance. For me, and now, my get up the yard moment came this week, when a friend asked if I was writing a blog this week. It was in the back of my mind to do it, but you know things in the back of your mind, they tend to stay there. I hadn’t given it much thought to be honest, and it forced me to get my finger out, so to speak.

So here we are, again, on the cusp of another final. And yes, it’s a Leinster final. It may have deteriorated into a secondary competition, but that is not Dublin’s fault. Other counties have not invested in their youth and in talent production, and as such, counties deemed to be inferior like Carlow, Laois and Longford are picking them off. The Dublin juggernaut rolls on whilst the gap widens. Munster has been a 2 horse race for as long as I can remember, so really only Connacht and Ulster remain somewhat competitive. Truth be known, the bigger teams have eyes on the bigger prize in September, but it doesn’t mean they’ll forsake their province. A trophy is a trophy, and players want medals to have at their career ends so to them it means something. And in the Delaney cup, it’s 8 in row on the line, come Sunday.

It’s also a chance to take stock, to evaluate. Where is this team? Yes, a national league was won, and at a canter we are in another Leinster final, all of which is true, but questions linger for all Dublin fans.

How will this team cope without Dermo in the squad?  How good are we? Are we better than last year, or are we going through the motions? Is it too soon to tell, when will the team peak? All this and more.

We don’t know the answers to these questions just yet, only time will tell us. Take each game as it comes your way. I do believe we had similar questions last year and we all remember how they were answered.

On the subject of Dermo, his footballing talent is no doubt a loss, but as I have said before, no one individual is bigger than a team and if it wasn’t to be for him or for Jim, then perhaps the right decision has been made. We did manage without him for most of the campaign last year, and yes, his influence in those last few minutes of the All Ireland final last year cannot be forgotten, but it’s a 30 man game, and it’s time for other leaders to step into the light. And this is something that this Dublin team is not lacking in. There are those who will die on the pitch to get us over the line. We’ve seen it time and time again and we know who they are. They are ours.

And of his footballing ability, did we witness a passing of the guard last year? Enter King Con. Such a talent and oh-so-young, who knows what this kid can go on to achieve in a Dublin jersey. I guess the no. 11 jersey is his and his alone this year. So for me, it’s very much one in, one out, in footballing parlons.

So what else has changed since we last talked? A lot.

Dublin has been renamed Costa del Dub, with its newly welcomed Mediterranean climate. Northsiders are still happy to call it Ballymun in the Sun. We are also in the midst of an epic contest on our televisions. Yes, I mean Love Island, and not the World Cup. The Munster Hurling championship has been turned into a GAA version of Gladiators and all for the better I say. A welcome distraction from the nothingness of the football championship thus far. We still have Agent Orange in the Whitehouse unfortunately. Ireland has stepped out of the dark ages and this generation is showing the world how change gets done.

But life being life, there is a more serious side. And a reason for the words that follow….

I’ve always believed Dublin to be a special place and her people to be of stock like no other. Those beliefs have only grown stronger over the years. I’ve been writing this for a long time now, and there isn’t year where we don’t hear of the struggle, the battle, the endurance test that is, getting your hands on a Dublin ticket, especially in the latter stages of a championship. What most don’t understand, is the why.

Now, if you’re like me, a lifelong Dublin Gaa fan, no explanation is required. But if you’re not, then in these few short words, I will try to describe why people go to extraordinary lengths to see their team.

Dublin football is an institution, it’s a movement, it’s generational, it borderless, it’s about family, friends, it’s about football, it’s about winning, losing. It’s about experience. It’s about joy, agony, ecstasy, elation, triumph, adversity, achievement, making history, remembering history. To a Dublin Gaa fan, it’s a milestone planner, you’ll associate life experiences with epic Dublin games. You’ll often hear Dubs talk about ‘ D’ye remember the day we got pissed on, On the Hill?, Ye it was the ’96 Leinster final’ Weddings, births and anniversaries are synchronized with Dublin achievements. Every Dub has their own story, but into this institution they are born, and in it, they grow and live their life. It’s who we are and where we find ourselves. It’s always about the experience. The adrenalin rush, the goose-bump, the pints, the hugs and the sing-song, and the ‘let’s have the craic’.

For this and for more, true Dublin Gaa fans will scour the earth if there was a chance they would get a ticket to see their beloved dubs.

What we don’t hear of is the harder side of life. The sacrifice, the battles that some have. Those who go beyond through their own hell on earth just to get to a Dublin game.

Now Illness visits every family at some point in all of our lives, and struggles we all face at some point or another.

My get up the yard moment came this week when a good friend of mine in work told me about his Dad who is a huge Dublin fan. Diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and going through intensive chemo, his only focus was only getting to see Dublin vs Longford, even if it meant dragging a hospital bed and half the staff with him. Wouldn’t entertain any notion of not going. Had to be done, simple as that, in his mind, regardless of the bigger battle he was fighting. If that doesn’t tell you what it means to be a Dublin Gaa fan, well then nothing ever will.

That man and his son have my admiration, my respect, my thoughts and hopes for a better life, a positive outcome. We are nation of fighters, and as a county, we too are proud to fight, no matter how big or how small the battle. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Referendum or a British army, we’ll fight. And in hearing the story of the lengths this man went to just to see the Dubs…..He’ll fight. And we will be right there with him.

My love of Oasis music came about because of 1995, the year we won an all-Ireland for the first time in 12 years (and then didn’t win one for another 17 years). The year of Champagne Supernova and more. So, I thought these lyrics of theirs are most fitting of this story…make of it what you will…

‘All we know is that we don’t know, What is gonna be'

Please Brother let it be, life on the other hand won’t let you understand

We’re all part of a masterplan’

In true Dublin style, and with every one of your Dublin Gaa family right behind you. Keep fighting, keep believing. We never gave up once during those 17 years. We never gave up in those games we looked dead and buried in. We believed and we believe in you.

Until then……

SAY IT LOUD AND SING IT PROUD.