Galway in grip of ticket fever for big day

There's a car parked on the roadside in the tiny village of Moylough in north Galway with the lower half of a man's body, clad…

There's a car parked on the roadside in the tiny village of Moylough in north Galway with the lower half of a man's body, clad in runners and white shorts, sticking out through a hole in the boot.

The upper half of the mannequin exits through the roof of the mini-Metro wearing a maroon jersey and holding a football aloft.

His message for Meath in advance of tomorrow's All-Ireland football final clash is simple: "We might go in the back door but we will come out on top".

The Metro, painted maroon and white by local football supporters, is just one of several cars which have been given a makeover in the county colours as excitement grows in the build-up to the final.

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Another on the main Galway/Dublin Road near Craughwell has an inbuilt plea: "Full of diesel - no ticket".

The owner's concern is shared by thousands of fans in Galway frantically searching for tickets for the big game. "They're impossible to get," said Mr Mike Kelly of Joe's Bar on Society Street, Ballinasloe. "The phone could ring 30 times a day with people looking for tickets".

As assistant PRO of the local football club, St Grellan's, he expects people will hound him for those all-elusive tickets, but he said the club didn't get half enough to meet the demand.

The town is festooned with maroon and white bunting, but Mike says the atmosphere is a little more muted than other years. "It seems to be overshadowed a bit by events in America. Having said that on Saturday and Sunday people might forget about it for a while".

Sitting at the bar, Mr Jimmy Smith, who started going to All-Ireland finals in 1956 and whose father Willie was on the first Galway team to win the Sam Maguire Cup in 1925, said he was getting a bit old to travel to Croke Park but he was confident of a Galway win. "The last time in '66 when we played them in the championship final Galway beat Meath. We have no fear of them at all, to tell the truth," he said.

Mr John Geraghty has arrived home to Ballinasloe from Boston for the game. He hasn't a ticket yet but has "a good feeling" he's going to get one. He also has a good feeling about the final score: Galway 2-11, Meath 1-8.

This year Galway city, which was criticised in the past for not matching the efforts of the county in creating a festive atmosphere for the big game, will not be found wanting.

There's maroon and white bunting all around Eyre Square.

Meanwhile Tuam, the heartland of Galway football and home to Galway forward Ja Fallon, is a sea of maroon and white. A plaque outside the Brogue pub in the town centre confidently predicts the final score as Galway 2-14, Meath 2-12.

At a dedicated Galway shop on Bishop Street, which sells flags, posters, jerseys and lots more, trade was brisk last evening and the assistant, Ms Emer Flaherty, said some customers thought the shop was even selling tickets for the game. No such luck.