Chawke: We will parade Liam McCarthy at Stadium of Light

LIMERICK’S best known Dublin-based fan, Charlie Chawke is in for a mouth-watering mix of soccer and hurling this weekend — and has promised his native team a special trip if they are victorious.

On Saturday he flies over to watch Sunderland from his perch in the directors’ box.

And then it’s back to Croker to cheer on Limerick against Waterford the following afternoon.

Charlie, a native of Adare, is one of the eight Irish investors known as the Drumaville Consortium which bought Sunderland before the 2006/07 season for £10m (€15m).

Under Roy Keane they made it to the premiership and the value of the club has rocketed to somewhere in the region of €200 million.

Charlie, who owns a chain of pubs in Dublin, said: “It would be great if Sunderland could pick up the three points against Spurs on Saturday and then if Limerick were to score a three-point win over Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final.”

And if Limerick go all the way, Charlie has promised a special treat for the team.

He said: “There will be no problem bringing the Limerick team and backroom staff over to the Stadium of Light to show off the McCarthy Cup.”

More than 15,000 Limerick fans will be at the game on Sunday, with 1,500 travelling by train.

The county’s allocation of 12,500 tickets have been sold on by the 69 GAA clubs in the county.

And the mood among the team is upbeat with a determination to avenge the earlier championship defeat at the hands of Waterford.

Limerick team captain James O’Brien said: “It is great to have another crack at them. For 60 minutes of the Munster final we were looking like potential winners and then they just blitzed us in the final 10 minutes. They finish strongly which is something we need to look out for.”

Limerick mentor Gary Kirby believes the county’s heroes are over-priced by the bookies, at odds of 100/30 to win.

Waterford have been installed hot favourites at odds of 1/4, but Kirby said: “We don’t worry about whether we are underdogs or favourites going into the game. Some teams can deal with the mantle of favourites better than others.”