September and October are huge months in the local GAA calendar and for clubs that are lucky enough to make it to county finals, it leads to a wonderful atmosphere and build up to the big day.
Ahead of those games, we decided to sample the atmosphere in the local communities and what better way than to visit the local schools.
It was a bit of a step into the unknown for us. Ballyfin was our first stop one Friday and such was the noise, the colour, the excitement and the sheer good humour, we established fairly quickly that this was a job that needed more than one person on it.
We also had great days in Raheen, Clough and Ballacolla but our day up in Camross stole the show altogether.
Alan and I left the office on a sunny September morning and told the boss man we would be back in an hour. Four hours later, with our eardrums bursting, we finally arrived back.
Needless to say neither of us were familiar with getting to Camross, and heading towards that neck of the woods we lost reception on Google maps.
We first arrived at Killenure school, where despite the small numbers, we were blown away with the enthusiasm and the Camross black and amber absolutely everywhere. The kids managed to terrify the Bejesus out of Alan!
Next we headed to Camross NS where we were warned in advance that the level of excitement was on a whole other level again.
With thanks to Breda Doran, the secretary in both schools, who led the way from Killenure, we got a great tour of the parish.
And the students of Camross didn’t disappoint. They raised the roof with their renditon of the Conor McGregor song which they had changed somewhat to local needs thanks to the help of principal Talitha Horan.
Delighted with the big welcome we recieved and having the best of chats with all the students. We even stayed for the tea and sandwiches.
Sharon Palmer took on the role of being our tour guide to show us the rest of the village and the pitch.
We pulled up on the side of the road and hopped out to admire a mannequin dressed in the Camross gear. My big queastion to Sharon was “Are we allowed to park here?”
Her response was beyond comical. “It’s Camross, you can do what you want”.
Here are some of the photos from that day.
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