West Cork to Wales (via Bristol) - long.....

So as memories of Saturday are the thing at the moment, here are mine. I appreciate some might not read it due to previous postings I made (all taken out of context I hasten to add) but if you don’t want to read then so be it……

I currently live in rural West Cork, and keeping my two lads Barnsley fans in the face of fierce pressure to be ManUre or Celtic supporters (the Roy Keane connection) is difficult. At the moment they are Barnsley fans and the Irish connection in the team via McPhail and Colgan is really helping. However as Cork is totally sports mad they are also Cork City followers, Cork Gaelic Football and Cork Hurling fans coupled with Munster Rugby. In fact if Barnsley hadn’t made the playoff final we would have been in the Millennium last weekend for the Rugby, I gave my three tickets, pure gold dust over here, away to a neighbour. However I had promised the lads if Barnsley were in the play off final we would be there.

We always try to get to matches over the season and this year we went to Barnsley v Port Vale back in February, and obviously the lads saw the Notts Forest match on Sky and both matches against Huddersfield. After the come back against Huddersfield we were all looking forward to the final against Swansea.

A big, big thanks to Matt and J for getting tickets for me, Louise and the lads...

On Tuesday I travelled to Dublin on business, then from Dublin to Bristol on Wednesday night. Back to Cork via Dublin on Thursday evening and got home about 1.00 in the morning on Friday. Up at 6.00 and load the car. Pour the family in and set off to Rosslare, a four hour drive. Ferry across to Fishguard and then the drive through Wales!!!

Barnsley flag and Barnsley scarves across the back window, Barnsley sticker in the back. This coupled with the Irish registration and the "Cork – The Rebels" sticker and "Munster – Stand Up and Fight" sticker seemed to cause some confusion for Welsh motorist in the Swansea area, we got quite a few headlight flashes and honks though which the two lads enjoyed.

On to me Mum and Dad’s, who now live in the Weston-Super-Mare area, for the night. I couldn’t sleep and neither could the boys… way, way too excited.

Up at 7.00, despite being only an hour from Cardiff, and time for a bite of breakfast. Sort the car and load us all up. Away by 10.00. By this time we had received a number of text messages on the pub to meet in. After three tries for a pub, it was settled – meet in the City Arms.

I’m with everyone on the £4.90 to get into Wales thing….. But if you really want vitriol on the Welsh you need to talk to some Bristol footie fans. On the M4 heading West. By this time cars festooned with Red and White are becoming more frequent. Still unsure what they make of the Irish wagon festooned the same way, yet heading in from England.

Follow the signs in to the “Park and Walk” and set off for the City Arms. Everywhere is Red and White. Not a Swansea fan to be seen, which is probably down to the expertise of segregation of the cops... this is probably the only real shame about football in GB. If you could guarantee no trouble then the “craic” between opposing fans can be one of the best things about the build up to a game. Wembley was something special in this regard and is a memory we should all treasure for it.

Walked past the Castle Gate, heaving, and on into the City Arms which was the same. Tracked Matt and J (and our tickets) down to the back room of the pub. Settled down for a pint, but could only manage one. This was better than Matt who barely drank a half. Songs ringing out, the full repertoire, and the tension building.
Baled out of the pub to run into AliTyke, on top form, accompanied by one RR and some others. Lee, who was really, really drunk – are you the TFP?? If so you were very polite considering we had run-ins on this and previous boards

Into the ground, songs echoing in our ears… WHAT A STADIUM!!!! If the Welsh RFU can do this and the Irish GAA can build Croke Park then what the hell is the English FA doing in North London?

Louise is now hoping that some of last weekends Munster luck is still sticking to the pitch for the benefit of another team in Red – how right she was….

The match, well we were all (just about) there so what more can really be said. I’ll just add that Nick Colgan is getting all the headlines in the Irish Press; from Zero to Hero is the summing up. I hope we will all agree with that and not remember his season based on Swansea’s second goal.

So we hung on savouring every minute of the celebrations and ended up being some of the last out. Disbelief is probably the overriding emotion. 35 years of following the Reds and this was the first trophy I had seen them win. It still hasn’t fully sunk in. Yes we were lucky but then we were due…..

Back to the car and out of Cardiff. Lots of other Reds heading the same way. Car horn hooting, waving…… my lads giving it large from the back seats. A highlight was the Irish tricolour appearing out of the window of one car.. I assume it was O’Dwyers ?

Great day, great game, great team, great management, great fans, great town, just great….

My boys are back in school today wearing their Barnsley shirts. Most of the other kids will be in Cork shirts following a hurling win yesterday, but at last my two boys have something to be proud of that their peers will know about…

Roll on next season………….

 

Sounds like one hell of a 48 hour experience

.... and with a happy ending.</p>

Glad your lads got to witness the occasion. It will remain special to them, possibly forever.</p>

Took my lad, he's a bit older, but the experience of going through that together (especially the drawn out and uncertain ending) somehow makes the occasion very special indeed.</p>

Right - if the hailstones hold off, I think we'll go off to town to watch the parade</p>

 

quality post

 

Excellent Story. If you were driving the 4x4 with the Cork plates it was me (not O'Dwyers)who was hanging the tricolour outside of the car! The last time it saw action was at Huddersfield, the time before that was at the Nou Camp at the Barcelona V Celtic Champions league tie and the time before that (you'll like this!) was on top of Carrantouhill after a gruilling days climb in the Reeks.How surreal is that? Barnsley FC written across the Tricolour flying from the Cross at the top of the highest Mountain in Erin?

Happy days but I'm not sure they compare to the feeling at Cardiff. When Colgan saved Tate's penalty I thought I was going to burst with Joy! It was as good as the promotion games against Bradford (97) Rotherham(81) and Portsmouth (79) Yes I'm that old!

 

You over in Ireland or Scotland or where?

Just being nosey like, bit of a 'tic fan myself

 

Good to see you Rich

My rather inebriated, insane friend is indeed the one you mention. Not what you expected then?

 

Brilliant story of a brilliant day

Had that been me making such a journey , I think I'd still be asleep !!!

 

erm..Scotland? Ireland? Nope. Wensleydale! Not as romantic as you hoped (or hooped!) sorry. That's Wensleydale via Grimey and Cudworth incidentially.