A mixture of disbelief, ecstasy, delirium overcame me. And instead of Silence, I was roaring loudly and jumping around like House of Pain had never gone out of fashion. Thirty seconds earlier to this moment, Shane Maloney had slipped his marker and struck the 26th and decisive point of a truly unforgettable encounter between Galway and Tipperary in the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final. And another thirty seconds later the game was over. For years, I had watched Galway lose by a single point in numerous hard fought encounters, in both football AND hurling. Five years previously, Tipperary themselves had edged out Galway in the quarter-final stage in another enthralling game. However, today was different. All the pain, foul mouthed tirades, and soul destroying conclusions were forgotten in an instant. Galway were victorious by a solitary point, scored in the dying seconds. As an added bonus, Galway were in an All-Ireland Hurling Final, we would be hurling in September. I didn’t know how to celebrate that exact moment and those facts! I lost myself to the sheer joy of the result, celebrating with Galway people I never met before, or since.
Mid-air in one of my triumphant leaps of celebration, it had dawned on me…
What the hell am I going to do in September!?!
Long before the hurling season had caught fire, I had booked flights to the Algarve on the 3rd of September. Ireland were to play Gibraltar in a crucial Euro 2016 qualifier. Crucial in the sense it was a guaranteed and much needed three points in Group D. Travelling to away games since 2012, this trip was a must on my itinerary. In seven away games, I had yet to see Ireland triumph. Barring another Liechtenstein circa 95, I would finally see Ireland win away. In addition, I would get to enjoy some sunshine in the Algarve. It was a no-brainer. For some reason however, I decided to book a return flight home the following morning (5th September) after the game. And I don’t know why. I wasn’t planning on coming home early, at the time I had no reason to! I wasn’t thinking of the Ireland-Georgia qualifier a few days later (7th September). It just seemed convenient to book a direct flights from Knock to Faro that morning. My short trip raised eyebrows from my friends too. They thought it was weird I as only staying less than two days, never mind going to see an Ireland football match.
When it was later mentioned to me that I would be able to travel home for a potential All-Ireland final on the 6th September, I struggled to justify my travel plans. You see, the flight home was at 6:45am. Usually at that time the night after an away game, I am just about shutting my eyes and getting sleep. I had no idea how to approach those hours waiting for the flight. You know a situation is interesting when an all-nighter seems like the most sensible option. However, I was quite happy to deal with that situation when it presented itself. Back in May, things were a lot calmer in the sporting sense. And even a summer spent full of sporting weekends didn’t seem like enough preparation for these 5 Days.
It also dawned on me after the Tipperary encounter that Ireland were to play another qualifier in Dublin, against Georgia. Only in my mind I thought this game was on the Tuesday, and not the Monday. The Euro 2016 qualifying campaign is the 1st campaign I will have attended every home game (plus three aways). There was no thought process involved with deciding to go to that. Only when it was coupled with the Algarve and an All-Ireland Final did it seem like I should give it some thought. I had more time to think about it on the bus journey home on August 16th (I’ll stop with the dates now). My body was still shaking, given the extraordinary events that had took place in Croke Park. My vocal cords were failing to the extent I had to cut short a phone call home as they couldn’t hear what I was saying. I couldn’t get any sleep for my heart was shook to its core. My girlfriend even brought me a flask of tea at the bus stop to help calm me down. This was one game, an extraordinary game. 70 minutes of sporting excellence. What on earth was I in store for these 5 days in September?
Once my heart was set on doing all of these games, I took quiet pleasure telling people of my plans. Seeing their raised eyebrows, their look of surprise, shock, jealousy, confirmed to me that not only was I a lunatic but that I was lucky. Lucky to be able to attend these games, to do what I love. That being said, these 3 games and the necessary commutes to and from would land a severe blow to my bank account. I had intended for the month of August to be a month of austerity in preparation for saving for the Algarve. And my austerity amounted to going to Croke Park twice (staying overnight in Dublin for Galway vs. Donegal), going out with relatives home from Australia & England, and most importantly (in case she reads this) wining & dining my girlfriend. I am usually on top of my finances but the five day excursion required a separate page of its own in my accounts to help me figure what and where the precious €’s were going.
Aside from money, the most pressing issue was securing a ticket to the Hurling final. I was fortunate to secure tickets to both the drawn game and replay in 2012. However, it was not until the day before I left for Portugal that I was able to get my hands on a ticket for the final. My former employers are well vested in the GAA and went out of their way to get me a ticket, which was very nice of them. That’s what I decided to focus on, instead of the fact the seat itself was in the corner of the Hogan Stand. If I wanted to be that selfish about it, I could give the ticket to someone else and stay at home. And that was never going to happen. How could I forgive myself if Galway went on to win it and I gave up a ticket! I was going to the game, and I was grateful for that fact most of all. And from that moment I finally started to look forward to the hurling final. So much that I decided to make a promo video for the game, focusing on Galway’s final heartbreak since 1990. It was hardly ideal to work on that idea alongside with my packing and planning for Portugal the night before I left. It was 1am before I went to bed, the video and the packing not finished.
Read Part 1 here:
https://shotsfromdistance.blogspot.ie/2016/03/5-days-in-september-part-1.html
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