St Vincents of Dublin will be hoping that the Andy Merrigan Cup won’t be travelling far from Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day.

Forget green, white and gold. This St Patrick’s Day the streets of Dublin will be lined with blue jerseys as hundreds of St Vincents’ supporters will be organising their own parade to Croke Park.

Mentor and lifelong member, Tony Lambe says: “Our marching band will be leading the celebrations, guiding our supporters from the club down Griffith Avenue and towards Richmond Road, into Ballybock and straight up to Croke Park. We’re anticipating that hundreds of people will be joining in the celebrations.”

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Situated on the outskirts of Dublin city, Tony says Fairview and Marino have always been big GAA areas.

“All the talk these days is about the team and how they’ll perform against Castlebar Mitchels.”

With three All-Ireland champions on their panel, including the much talked about Mossy Quinn, fans are quietly optimistic. However, the team itself has been keeping a low profile over the past few weeks, concentrating on the game at hand.

Tony says: “We’ve had some tough matches to get to the final. Our replay with Ballymun was nail biting stuff, but Dublin has had a great few months and clubs across the capital have really gotten behind us on our road to Croke Park.

“It brings out the community spirit everywhere, even in big cities.”

This isn’t the first time that St Vincents has been in Croke Park for the club finals. They won the championship back in 2008 and 1976.

“Many of our lads remember the excitement and atmosphere of 2008 and want the club to experience that all over again. It’s a great feeling.”

Castlebar Mitchels

Excitement over the last few weeks will encourage younger players for years to come, says Bernard Treacey of Castlebar Mitchels.

Rural towns and the GAA clubs of Ireland have been badly affected by the recession. However, when Castlebar Mitchells won the Mayo County finals two years ago, the team decided that they would see it out to the end. Life-changing decisions to stay at home rather than follow friends abroad have paid off. Hard work, determination and dedication have led them on a path to face St Vincent’s in the football final.

That’s not to say they don’t have a tough fight on their hands, facing some of Dublin’s All-Ireland winning players, but the team has done very well so far.

Secretary of Bord na nOg, Bernard Phelan says: “There has been some tough competition in this championship already. Winning the Mayo championship was the first big battle but we’ve also been up against Curraghfin in Galway and the club champions St Brigids of Roscommon. All these wins have helped build the team’s strength and confidence, day by day, week by week, all towards our day in Croke Park. Bernard says that this match isn’t just about the players on the pitch, but the entire GAA club.

“The effects of this match penetrate right down to the little lads and girls who are picking up footballs. I’m involved in Bord na nÓg and we can see that the excitement of the past few weeks and months will really encourage younger players for years to come. This support fuels their own aspirations.”

Between table quizzes, coffee mornings, bag packing in the local supermarkets and flags flying across the town of Castlebar, everybody is involved.

In fact, the crowd travelling to Croker is so big that a train has been organised from Castlebar to Dublin.

“You’ll never know,” laughs Bernard, “Castlebar Mitchells might have their own unofficial parade going to the stadium on the day.”