The lawn in the front garden of Lisa Connolly’s home on Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra has been drawing crowds in recent days.
A family of diehard Dubs, they have painted the Dublin crest into the length and breadth of the grass. They’ve even commandeered the next door neighbour’s lawn, where the Sam Maguire cup is painted with the numbers one, two, and three around it.
Connolly answers the door with her Yorkshire Terrier, Coco, yapping at her heels. “The dog won’t come near you, but she’s overfriendly,” says Connolly reassuringly. As we sit down in the front room, Coco jumps up beside us. “She gets very excited when there’s visitors.”
Connolly explains that should Dublin clinch their fourth All-Ireland title in a row against Tyrone on Sunday, she’ll be tasked with running home from Croke Park to paint the number four around the Sam Maguire.
“Over the last couple of years my husband started to do a bit of decorating on the grass,” she says. “He thinks he’s getting better every year. He was complaining about the lawn being very dry last night and he ran out of white paint.
“I’m the green keeper and he’s the painter, but he’ll leave the paint with me in a little pot with a brush on Sunday. If we get the four in a row, I’ve to run out and paint the number four around Sam before they all leave Croke Park.
“The fact that we’re on the road to the stadium, you get all the Dubs looking at it. Our surname is Connolly, so this is known as Connolly station. This is the stop off for family and friends on the way to Croke Park on big match days.”
Just up the road, Fagan’s pub is readying itself for the big day.
Behind the bar, Michael Lacey says the place will be jammed on Sunday, but there'll be no sign of the pub's most famous customer. Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern isn't one for big crowds.
“He usually comes in the day before or on the Friday to have a chat with the lads about the match,” says Lacey. “It’ll be chocker in here on Sunday – you’re talking five deep at the bar – so it wouldn’t be comfortable. I’d say he’ll make his way further out.”
Disillusioned
Sitting at the bar with a full pint of Guinness in front of him is local man Brendan O’Dwyer, who says he’s been to all the recent finals involving Dublin, but won’t go this year even if he’s offered a ticket.
“I used to have to go out of my way to get a ticket the same as everyone else, but because of the quality of the football this year, I think if somebody offered me a ticket, for the first time ever I wouldn’t take it,” he says. “That’s how disillusioned I’ve become.”
On the south side of the city in Shankill, Barry Jones and his children Molly (7), Cara (5) and Elsie (4) have built a scarecrow and decked it out in Dublin garb for the front garden. “It’s called Paddy Blue,” says Jones.
“There was a bit of wood knocking about the garden so I got the tools out and put it together. The kids named it Paddy and we put Blue at the end of it for obvious reasons. We have it up in the front garden now and it’s getting a good bit of attention.
“It’s about getting the kids involved – brainwashing the next generation. Supporting Dublin was passed down from my dad to me, and I hope to do the same with my kids.
“We’ve had the Sam Maguire in the house overnight. When you see it all these years, having it in your kitchen is mad. All the kids have been in it, so it’s very special.”
