Eimear Ryan: Each All-Ireland final is stuffed full of the finals that preceded it

Watching this year’s final we will carry within us every other final we have ever watched since childhood: layer upon layer of elation, disappointment, thrills, spills, memory and experience

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Limerick's Aaron Gillane in action against Kilkenny in last year's All-Ireland SHC final. The two sides meet again in this year's decider. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every household is in possession of a tote bag full of tote bags, most likely hung on a coat hook in the hallway. The outermost tote is usually a sturdy canvas article, but inside is a tangle of cotton shoulder-bags procured from various places: Penneys, bookshops, promotional totes for magazines/podcasts/bands. We keep collecting tote bags because the tote bag of totes can never be filled: there is always room for more.

All-Ireland finals are like the tote bag of totes. This Sunday, we will be watching this year’s final but we also carry within us every other final we have ever watched on TV or attended in person since childhood: layer upon layer of elation, disappointment, thrills, spills, memory and experience. Each All-Ireland final is stuffed full of the finals that preceded it, like a delicious ravioli. And – at the risk of belabouring the tote metaphor – we have baggage too, often to do with the fortunes of our own county. The good years, the bad years, and the indifferent ones. (Tipp, as it happened, managed to encompass all three in 2023, much like an Irish summer showcasing the weather of multiple seasons.) If you don’t have the good luck to hail from the modern hurling empires of Limerick or Kilkenny, this Sunday is perfect opportunity to sit back, relax, grab the popcorn and watch the two juggernauts slug it out. Barbenheimer, eat your heart out.