Robert Emmet’s of London contest today’s All-Ireland intermediate club hurling final.

THEY haven’t got a pitch, they haven’t got a club house, dammit they haven’t even got a shed they can call their own, no meeting-place of any description.

What they do have is their name, their colours, their jersey — make no mistake about it, Robert Emmett’s are a legitimate, full-fledged GAA club, as worthy of their place in Croke Park this Sunday as any team in Ireland. And there’s the rub; Robert Emmett’s, even though they are very much an Irish club, are not a club based in Ireland.

Tomorrow, as they face Galway and Connacht champions Killimordaly in the intermediate club hurling final, the London champions will attempt to become the first British-based club to win an All-Ireland title. It’s a most worthy ambition.