IT’S GETTING close to open warfare on the border between Kilkenny and Tipperary. A Kilkenny group styling themselves “The K Team” have been making midnight forays behind enemy lines to plant their black and amber flags and bunting, and paint over Tipperary slogans.
Border areas such as Urlingford and Killamery have been targeted and the group planned to stay up all night last night to drown Kilkenny in a sea of black and amber.
The group leader, K1, spoke to The Irish Timeson condition that his identity was not revealed for fear of reprisals from Tipperary supporters.
He said history was beckoning for the Kilkenny team and the group wanted to ensure that the county did the players proud.
In recent weeks they organised a “Battle of the Bars” pitting Tipperary and Kilkenny supporters against each other in a bid “to prove we are better than them at everything”. Kilkenny won the darts and the sing-off element of the competition but an interview with journalist Nell McCafferty on Thursday night meant they had to miss the table quiz. Last night’s blitz meant they would also miss the soccer competition so K1 declared a draw. “Let Sunday’s result be the deciding factor,” he said magnanimously.
But Kilkenny supporters do not have a monopoly on enthusiastic fandom. Tipperary band Johnnie B and the Boogie Men have received more than 50,000 hits on YouTube for their paean to the Premier County, a song called Premier Rap.
The song manages to namecheck every member of the Tipperary panel, while band members intermittently shout “Tipp, Tipp, Tipp”. Sample lines include “Brendan Cummins from Ballybacon-Grange, Nasa are studying his puck-out range...Paul Curran he’s like a mini digger. He’s Mullinahone’s own Schwarzenegger.”
Such has been the reaction that they are to appear on RTÉ's Up for the Matchtonight, said their lead singer John O'Brien. "And we've been asked to play at the homecoming in Semple Stadium on Monday night. I think Tipp has a great chance this year. There's such a determination and the lads are really focused."
Tipperary man Bill Roe was more cautious as he stood in his bar Mary Macs in Urlingford with the two county flags flying outside. “Tipp will have to be hurling at their very best. Of course we’d like to see Tipp coming in here with the cup on their way home. There’d be free drink for them all,” he said, perhaps a little rashly.
“But no matter who wins, the celebrations will go on for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. From the point of view of the town, it’s the best final we could hope for.”
While Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has urged caution all the way, many Tipperary supporters spoke of the cockiness of the Kilkenny fans. “Kilkenny think they have it won already, without a shadow of a doubt,” said Marion Graham, who was knee deep in blue and gold jerseys in the Tipperary GAA Shop in Thurles. “They think they have the cup home and all. We do things a little differently here in Tipperary.”
The tills were ringing in the shop yesterday and she said they could not keep jerseys and polo shirts on the shelves. “I’m bracing myself for the avalanche of people tomorrow. And they need not be looking for tickets because we don’t have any.”
One man who had no problem getting a ticket was Adrian Finan, deputy principal at St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny and coach of the Kilkenny minor team. St Kieran’s is a nursery for hurling stars, having won more college All-Irelands than any other school. Some 16 members of the current senior panel attended the school, as well as Brian Cody. The school can even boast of educating Tipperary captain Eoin Kelly.
But Mr Finan said the students were probably more excited about the 10 current students who will play in the minor final. The school used to attract a large contingent of Tipperary students when it offered boarding but those students are in a minority now, like its four Tipperary teachers.
But if Mystic Moira from Bennettsbridge is correct, the Tipperary teachers are in for a disappointment. The psychic has declared that Kilkenny will win but she declined to give the score, according to the Kilkenny Peoplewhich asked "is she hedging her bets and going for a replay"? The flags and bunting could be fluttering for a few more weeks.
