Gearoid O Tiarnain had a different take on the scramble for Leinster final tickets in the Kildare Nationalist this week. While the sports pages carried news that the county was only getting 16,000 tickets for a 30,000 requirement, O Tiarnain's back page piece reflected on how many friendships are renewed at times of ticket need. And the friendship is quickly discontinued again when a ticket is not forthcoming. "When your long lost pal of 40 years ago (I remember well I was beside you on the Canal End in 1948) eventually realises he is not going to get a ticket from you, he will let you know in no uncertain terms where the tickets do go: `you shower will be okay, ye're worse than the mafia'." O Tiarnain also casts a cold eye over the notion of the "genuine supporter", those who never miss a match. "One thing is for sure," he writes," there will be plenty of room for all those who never missed a (Kildare) county final. There has never been more than 7,000 or 8,000 i lathair on that Big Day."

It was unclear whether the mothers of Tadhg Fennin and John Doyle got their hands on tickets, but inside the Nationalist talked to the two women about their part in their sons' success. Phyllis Doyle likes to play it cool on the morning of matches: "I try to keep everybody calm on the morning of the match. Football talk is banned in our house that morning," while Phyllis Fennin reflected on her son's efforts through the years and recalled his first match as a seven-year-old when he scored a goal.

Colin Regan may have been banned for yesterday's Connacht final, but he certainly had his say in this week's Leitrim Observer, which went for the jugular with its full colour preview supplement of yesterday's match at Hyde Park. Regan, a journalist with the paper, reflected on the campaign to date, the mood in the county, the challenge presented by Galway: and had a dig at Pat Spillane for good measure. "The good thing about the final is that no one around the country offers us the remotest chance of victory. Mr P Spillane, that GAA expert who is held in such high regard around these parts, feels sorry for us. The feeling is mutual Pat."

And finally to Culbaire in the Tipperary Star, whose hurt at his county's exit was lessened by the fact that Tipperary had only arrived at Croke Park by the back door. "Personally, as a traditionalist, I don't feel as hurt by defeat under this new system as in the strict old times, though getting beaten twice in a year is a `privilege' denied to the men of the past. The best champions are unbeatable ones and it looks as we'll have that type this year, unless Offaly can rebound as in '98."

As a confirmed non-traditionalist, my hurt is still real: and I'm talking about Davy Fitgerald's save from John Leahy in the '97 final.