Coleman finds it hard to keep his eye on the ball

HE SHOULD be on his way to Croke Park like any other self respecting Cork fan, but instead Coleman O’Sullivan, brother of Cork full back, Ciarán, has been distracted this weekend.

Given the circumstances most Munster men would probably forgive him.

“I’m escorting the Rose of Tralee Lisa Manning who’s from Perth. I begged the organisers to let her go with me to Croke Park but they won’t. Anyway I hope to convince her to shout for Cork,” said Coleman, who spruced up his Citroen Xantia for the big occasion.

But because he’s on official duty with the Roses his friends will be driving the car to the capital instead.

“I’m hoping to get a lift up to see the game later. I’m also hoping that we’ll win and I’ll be able to drive it back to Tralee on Monday morning,” Coleman said.

The last time he dolled up the Citroen Cork beat Mayo in the 1999 semi-final. “I’m hoping that will be a good omen because I was also in Tralee at the time,” Coleman said.

But the lucky Citroen of the dedicated Cork escort is not the only dolled-up car bound for Dublin this weekend.

“The hype is mighty,’’ enthused shopkeeper Denis Moynihan, of Rathmore, Co Kerry, as the exodus got underway.

Parked in his yard was a green and gold Volvo, by now a familiar sight in venues where the Kingdom play.

Being on the Cork/Kerry border and with two members of the Kerry squad, Declan O’Keeffe and Tom O’Sullivan, from the parish, said excitement levels in Rathmore were unreal.

“Every second person is talking about the game. Most seem to be tipping Kerry to win and Cork followers around here appear to be very slow to take a bet,’’ Denis Moynihan remarked.

While there’s no scarcity of match tickets, a shortage of train tickets has forced many Kerry fans to look to for alternative means of transport and private buses to get them to Dublin.

Last Wednesday, some Kerry fans carrying fold-up chairs and blankets started queuing for rail tickets as early as 2.30am at train stations in the county, six and a half hours before the tickets went on sale.

Up to now, Kerry fans have been travelling to matches in smaller than usual numbers, but a county board spokesman was last night confident they would occupy a large section of Croke Park.

“There’s nothing like a meeting with Cork to motivate Kerry people. Playing them in Croke Park in an All-Ireland semi-final is a unique event that many people wouldn’t want to miss,’’ the spokesman said.