Before we knew it we had left the motorway and were driving through Newbridge for our first stop of the day. We were heading to Newbridge Sarsfields, the biggest and most successful football club in Co. Kildare, for a number of challenge matches for the lads. No sooner were we off the bus, but the kit was out, boots were on and our 3 teams were ready for action. Unfortunately Sarsfields U11 and U12 teams were stuck for time as they had a club game to travel to which was only scheduled last minute. Our U11's and 12's managed to get about 20 minutes of football against Sarsfields, and while scores were not being officially recorded, both games looked very even with some great passages of play and scores coming from both sides. Once Sarsfields left, the lads made new teams and played against each other with a few of the Sarsfields boys also joining in to play. A great game of football followed with only a point in it when the clock ran down.
Meanwhile the U10's were having a cracker of a match against Sarsfields playing for just about the hour. Watch this space, as there were a number of talented lads from both teams, who could be destined to wear their respective County colours in the years to come.
Once the games were over we retreated to the Clubhouse for lunch and refreshments. We would like to thank Stephen in Sarsfields for his hospitality on the day and also for organising their side of things relating to the games. They are a very progressive club and we will hopefully host them on a trip to Cork in the near future. Their club lotto has reached €12,000 and hasn't been won in over two years - well we did our bit to break the run and hopefully they will see us sooner than expected when they pull a Cork ticket as the winner!!!
Back on the bus and bound for Croke Park. Our tour time was 2pm. We entered the Museum and we were brought into a media room, where we watched a movie on the Day in the Life of Croke Park on a September Sunday. Its amazing to see the amount of people, work, and organisation it takes to run an All-Ireland Final day in Croke Park. Over 2000 people are involved on those September Sundays. The movie was based on the Hurling and Football Finals of 2009 (not a great year for Cork supporters) and it was suggested to the guide, by the lads, that they should show last years finals instead!!
Derek, our guide, then brought us on the tour of the stadium. He showed us the "sunlight machines" they use for the grass, the tribute to Michael Curran who worked as the groundsman there for 35 years and explained about how he used intelligent sheep for cutting the grass to the required lengths for football or hurling....was he telling the truth... who knows. Ned did get some notions though so who knows what he will have on the pitch shortly - state of the art lighting or a flock of sheep. He brought us into the Players lounge where the chandeliers are normally red - isn't that right Will? Derek explained that Croke Park is a neutral ground and is actually not Dublins home ground, but they still get Dressing Room 1 because its decided alphabetically and since they use Atha Cliath for Dublin they always win!! Dressing Room 2 was closed off due the upcoming visit of the Queen so we were brought into another dressing room and the lads got to look around and sample the water from the drinking fountain.. it must be special water as they all went wild for it and even queued. Derek brought us out from the dressing room into the warm up room and then we went pitch side to the 3rd largest Stadium in Europe. From here we went up through the VIP section of the Hogan stand. On the way we were treated to a very rare sight, one which may never be seen again, it was a Dub lifting a cup in Croke Park - check it out in the photo gallery below if you dont believe it!! Derek showed the boys the large outdoor screen and explained that the tour guides use it to play XBox when the visitors are gone home.... hmmm I think he was joking on that too. He explained where the stands (Cusack, Hogan, Davin, Hill 16) got their names from - ask the boys if they remember - they will probably remember about the Hogan Stand as there were a good few questions about where was he when he was shot, where was the shooter, did the British soldiers have tickets, etc. From here we went up by escalator to the upper level and made our way around to the Davin Stand, and then on to see a Corporate Box in the Cusack. We made our way back to the Museum and played the many games in the upstairs section. Well done to Scott Coughlan (93 kph) and Michael Harrington (123 kph) on winning the hurling speed game. A quick browse through the magnificent items in the museum followed by a stop in the gift shop and our tour was complete. It took the best part of 2.5 hours and the time flew. Well worth the trip to see such a wonderful stadium and the bits you never see on match days.
Onto the bus, food order taken from all 38 or was it 39 boys, and McDonalds contacted. 30 minutes later we arrived at McDonalds, took up our designated area and were fed and watered by the staff there. A few McFlurrys later and we were back on the best thing to come out of Dublin....yes Damian.....the road to Cork. The entertainment on the way home seemed to be aimed at the organiser of the day, poor ol' Damian Taaffe, who will be hearing "Hill 16 is falling down, falling down, falling down........" in his sleep for many a week to come.
We landed back at the club at 9:30pm and delivered all of the boys and their belongings, we hope, safe and sound.
Many thanks to Damian Taaffe for organising the trip, to the parents/adults who also came along to supervise, but the biggest thanks goes to all of the boys. They were exceptional on the day and kept us, the bus driver, and the tour guide amused with their comments. It was indeed a pleasure of a trip.
