These Days of Days

Diary of a Dub These days of days…. The scene is set. The dye has been cast. The day is upon us. 5 games remain. Immortality for those who seek to set foot upon hallowed ground. To dare, to dream, to believe and to reach. Goosebumps are here. A rare condition of giddiness amongst those to whom all things Blue matter most. Counting sleeps or not sleeping, hydrating or liquidating, every Dub has been wishing those days away just as a child longs for Christmas. Wait no more. Super 8’s time. Another year on and the best of best prepare to put their big boy pants on and slog it out over the next 4 weekends for a place in the semi-final. Here is your guide to the 7 teams of 2019, each of whom will be doing all they can to deny Dublin this year. Tyrone A county of serious pedigree and begrudery (they still haven’t gotten over 1995). So well balanced they carry a chip on both shoulders What do I need to know – Don’t bring up 1995. And they are Nordies. What do we think – Dangerous. Beat Dublin in the league. Lost to us by six points in the 2018 final. Omagh awaits again this year. Bring it. Roscommon Looks can be deceiving. Have won Connacht twice in the last 3 years. 2nd year into the Super 8’s, they may have been whipping boys last year, but  they have potential to cause a shock, if they haven’t been on the beer since winning Connacht. What do I need to know – Don’t bring up the fact their best player is a Kerryman. What do we think – Unknown. If they’ve been on the beer, forget it. If they haven’t, they might make life difficult for Tyrone. Cork Called it last year. Good to see them back in the big time. Too big a county to not be mixing it up with the big boys. Definitely improved. Gave Kerry a fright and could have beaten them. 1 of 4 counties to win an All-Ireland this decade (2010). What do I need to know – Their bants is on a different level. Be afraid. That said, they are the best craic, ever. What do we think – Nothing to lose. Getting here is progress. Staying here is another thing. Potential to upset anyone with the way they are playing. Kerry An enigma. There is no county with a higher footballing pedigree. Last seen in 2014 with their only win this decade. Bottled it last year when their path was clear. Living in fear that Dublin will deliver 5-in-a-row. Rumour has it the county council have plans to seal off the county and remove all forms of communication with the outside world if the worst comes to pass. What do I need to know – Only travel for an All-Ireland final, so nothing you need to know at this stage. What do we think – Trouble. Needs no motivation. Stopping Dublin from achieving 5-in-a-row is what this team was designed to do. They’ll be like The Terminator in doing all they can to stop us. Mayo Cursed. If you believe it. First year in the Super 8’s. Back from the abyss. Dublin’s main rival this decade having lost 3 All-Ireland final’s to us. Also highly Allergic to Croke Park. What do I need to know – Cursed since 1951, apparently. What do we think – Cursed or not It could be them. Cannot write them off, bound to cause mischief in their group, they have had Kerry’s number this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get out of that group. Donegal Highly fancied young team with a spread of experience and talent. Playing good football. Left Ulster in their trail this year. Last team to beat Dublin in Championship football in 2014. Another team with an All-Ireland this decade. What do I need to know – Jimmy’s winning matches, also Nordies. What do we think – Dark Horse. Tough group. Potential to be there on September 1st based on the football they are playing. Watch this space for this team. Meath Managed to score only 4 points in the Leinster final against us. Only here to make up the numbers. What do I need to know – They hate Dublin. Born to hate us and fight each other. What do we think – Goosed. This year’s whipping boys. Record will read, played 3, battered 3 times. Donegal, Kerry and Mayo forwards will relish playing with them.   And so, what of tomorrow? And what of Cork? A County steeped in Gaelic history of both codes, a county with 7 All-Ireland’s and relatively recent winners in 2010. Whilst the last few years have been barren, football is often seen in Cork as the poor due relation to their Hurling prowess. Nevertheless, a prouder county you won’t find, and it doesn’t matter what the code of sport it is, Cork get behind their team. They are steeped in our History too. In the past Dublin and Cork have played out incredible games in their time. Three of which stick long in my memory. 1995, All Ireland Semi-final. That Jayo goal. Mark O’Connor on his arse, Jayo was gone and the ball was in the back of the net, Boom-Boom time. I’ll never forget this game, for us having been so close in 1992, ‘93 and ’94, 1995 was a last chance saloon of sorts. Nerves were frayed and it was only ever about getting over the line. A year which ended well, and a game to remember. 1983, All Ireland Semi-final. Two games it took to separate these sides, and two drama-packed footballing exhibitions that unfolded before our very eyes. Will we ever forget that Barney Rock last minute goal in the first game to force a replay, Hill 16 shook to its foundations that day like never before. This was also the year that Pairc Ui Caoimh was christened Hill 17 by the travelling away fans. The first All-Ireland Semi-final played outside Croke Park in 40 years. Amongst those travelling Dubs were my dad and my brother who ended up on the front page of the RTE guide as a result, one had hair, the other hadn’t lol, now neither of them has any! Another epic game, that pass from Barney Rock and that sublime finish from Joe McNally for the 4th goal, those were the days to be Blue. Days of Rock, Duff, Mullins and O’Toole (may he rest in peace). The year of the 12 Dublin Apostles. 2010 All-Ireland Semi-final. And then there was 2010.The Pat Gilroy era. Another year of heartbreak for Dublin. 16 years on from 1995, no All-Ireland and another semi-final defeat. The year of Ross McConnell. Single handedly, he brought Cork back into the game. Dublin led from the start until McConnell went into full-on implosion mode, first giving away a penalty to bring Cork back into the game, and then throwing himself into a poor tackle in the last minute which gave Cork a free to take the lead for the first time in the game. Deserved winners on the day were Cork and they were to be crowned Champions that year. As Dubs, we always look back on that game as a turning point, a catalyst for what was to come. In those years, and in all of the heartbreak and near misses, you learn to win. Its oft said, you gotta lose one to win one, and this is how we remember 2010. Our day would be only 12 months away. For now, 3 games lie ahead. Take them as they come, we shall. One. Game. At. A. Time. That said, these are also the days of days. Never in our wildest dreams, never in the depths of those 17 years of despair did we think we would have a shot at this. Never did we see these days of days coming. But here they are and here we are. Loyal and believing, for there is no greater cause when you are a Dub, there is no better feeling, there is nothing like your family. Your Dublin family. The next 8 weeks are to be lived. This is the serious end of the business, these are the blood rushing, toe-curling, goose-bumping times, and it doesn’t matter what county you hail from, this is where you want to be. To me, and this is how I see it, I’ve been there in the darkest days and this is something we may never see again. And yes, time may stand still for the next 8 weeks, and every day may feel like groundhog day, but I like every other Dub will want to experience every second, every minute, every step. Dublin is our life, is our hope and is in our dreams, and its beyond a brotherhood. Just like this team, I will go where they go, and I will follow in these days of days….

COYBIB.