IN 2013, WE’VE witnessed fans of Dublin and Mayo asking Enda, advertising in the lonely hearts section and bartering cattle (not to mention siblings) all in the desperate scramble for a ticket to the All-Ireland senior football championship final.
In case you think it’s mere empty hype, first bear in mind that it is hype that has existed for a century on this island.
Below are some pictures from finals between 1948 and 1958 released by the IFI’s Irish Film Archive as part of their release of ‘GAA Football Gold on DVD.
They were simpler times, of course, with fewer (recorded) instances of trading sisters for short-term gains. So that left more wiggle room to scale rooftops, tunnel under fences and plead at the ticket office.
All images courtesy of the Irish Film Institute. You can can find much more great images from this era on their Facebook page here.
You can buy GAA Football Gold here.