THE ANNUAL - or near-annual - mass exodus from Kerry to Croke Park begins today as fans leave on planes, trains and automobiles for the All-Ireland football final.
It is a time of zest and gaudiness, when the hottest fashion item is the Kerry jersey, and when a small boy in Lixnaw tells the parish priest the name of the Bishop of Kerry is Paul Galvin.
Yesterday, after his morning walk through the demesne opposite St Mary's Cathedral, the real Bishop of Kerry, Dr Bill Murphy, said that if ever Kerry missed an All-Ireland final, "the county will experience withdrawal symptoms, and the people will need counselling".
"Well, it's the three-in-a- row. And it's Tyrone," the bishop said. He expects Kerry will beat Tyrone by "three to four points".
Kerry are going for their 36th All-Ireland title and they have hardly been out of the final for the last 11 years.
A whole generation is growing up to expect a natural order in September, where houses blaze the green and gold, and where - at just about the time they return to the books - there will be the giddiness of making bunting and flags to stick on school windows.
The children will also expect that, along with the school uniform, their parents will buy the latest Kerry jersey.
Linda McCarthy, "run off her feet" at Hennebery's Sports in Ashe Street in the heart of Tralee yesterday, said: "I have no 9-10s, I have no 10-11s. All the kids want the official jersey. They are like gold dust. We can't get them down [from the suppliers] fast enough all week."
Some parents are getting cuter and buying them a few sizes too big, particularly for boys, so they'll last a few Septembers, she noted.
However, the most sought-after jersey is for ages one to two. They sold out days ago."They are putting them on them when they are a few hours old," Ms McCarthy said.
Animals in Brendan O'Connor's farm at Alohart in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks again have shed their natural colours to be painted in green and gold.
Pigeons, doves, ducks, geese, and Daisy the cow now know it is coming up to the All-Ireland when the paint brush is brought out, Mr O'Connor believes. "Daisy was getting very giddy the past few days," he said.
Emotions are running high, with memories of All-Irelands past barely containable. Everyone is talking football: in the recess between court cases, in the cafes, on the radio, and in the papers. And everyone is claiming a footballer. Killarney Community College has a giant poster wishing their past pupil, team manager Pat O'Shea, the best of luck.
At least five of the Kerry team work in finance. That world may be teetering, but in the Kingdom the only globe that matters is the big ball at Croke Park on Sunday. "And there isn't half the fuss this year," a woman remarked yesterday in the New Street car park in Killarney. In Kerry, coming up to the third Sunday in September, they always say that.