Up for the cup: Rebel and Banners fans flying the flag

From scaling mountain peaks to iconic global landmarks — Cork and Clare hurling fans are going to great lengths and heights to show their true colours ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland showdown.

Denis Crowley, 34, from Castlelyons in Cork, proudly flew the ‘blood and bandage’ from the highest peak in one of the world’s great mountain ranges.

He even found time, perched on the 4,810m-high summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps, to show off his Rebel Passport. “But I’ll be home in time to be at the game in Croker,” he assured.

Denis, a vet who works in Tipperary, said it was a long-held ambition of his to scale the technically challenging mountain.

After several days acclimatising, Denis and his guide set out for the summit early on Thursday, reaching the top just after 7.30am. “It was a very emotional moment — a real dream come true,” he said. “A Cork win would make this one of the best weeks of my life.”

And as schools and office workers wore red and white yesterday, two Cork city council workers flew a huge 20m by 10m Rebel flag high above the city last night to back Jimmy Barry Murphy’s young charges.

The flag at Tramore Valley Park is visible for miles around and to aircraft landing at Cork Airport.

The scramble for final tickets is well and truly on. Despite getting a record ticket allocation, Clare fans have been advised to look outside the county for any spare tickets.

Ennis Town Council has stepped in to help by arranging to show the game on a big screen in the Abbey St car park from 2.30pm tomorrow.

Down Under, Clare ex-pats are planning to recreate that special All-Ireland atmosphere around the Sydney Opera House.

Marie McNamara, originally from Ballynacally but living in Coogee, New South Wales, is using social media to organise the ‘Backing the Banner Boys Down Under’ gathering.

The event will start with Mass near Bondi Beach on Sunday morning followed by a group photograph near Mrs Macquarie’s Point, before fans head to a late-night bar to watch the game live on TV just after 12am local time.

“While we can’t be at home for it, we are going to make it as good as we can over here,” Marie said. “There are so many local people over here from Ballynacally, Kildysart, Ballyea, Labasheeda, Coolmeen — all the areas around.”

* Visit our special All-Ireland section for more news and analysis on this year's All-Ireland final