Week 15: On days like this you wouldn’t know the difference between Harney’s of Dunhill and the Wolfhound Irish Pub in Itaewon

As the clock approached 1am on Sunday morning celebrations were well under way back at "the local". Players, friends and well-wishers had packed the place out to the extent that one could not move without bumping into someone as they did.

At one end of the bar players from the victorious men’s team, had formed in a circle, arms around one another, as the cup was being passed around. As it did, “I will wait” by Mumford and Sons, roared out from the speakers adding to the lively atmosphere. One by one, each player took a long satisfied swig of the cup’s contents, some of which had come from a newly opened bottle of champagne courtesy of player and bar owner Ciaran Doherty. A few steps away, members of the winning Ladies team danced jovially while others were at the bar getting in the next round of drinks.

This could easily have been a scene from my local pub back home after winning a county championship in football or hurling, in junior, intermediate or senior. I’ve been lucky enough to experience a couple of these occasions and there’s never anything quite like bringing the cup home to show off to the rest of the village. It’s one of the times when the whole community is brought together by the success and hard-work of players and management on the pitch.