Farmyard Fans: Wearing the colours for Sunday's final

He may not attend too many football matches, but one keen Kerry GAA supporter will this weekend be surrounded on the terraces…

He may not attend too many football matches, but one keen Kerry GAA supporter will this weekend be surrounded on the terraces of Carrauntoohil by flocks of fans in the green and gold.

Farmer Brendan O'Connor has painted 30 ducks, 10 sheep, two cows, three goats and several geese in the kingdom's colours on his farm deep in the heart of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland football final between Kerry and Tyrone.

He got a jersey knitted for one cow and asked a local dressmaker to make jackets for several sheep, ducks as well as his trusted sheepdog Pup. "I am not a great man to go to matches," said Mr O'Connor (36), "but I have followed Kerry all my life." He will not be at Sunday's All-Ireland.

His real difficulty he said was in catching the animals and persuading them to stand still for their "face-painting" job. However, he got a lot of assistance from local children. "The goats came out mighty because of their short hair," he said.

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Decking out his animals brought luck, Mr O'Connor added. He would not write Tyrone off, but he believed Kerry should do it. His favourite player is the Killarney Dr Crokes club player Eoin Brosnan, who he said had all the grit and determination of the famous Eoin "Bomber" Liston.