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There was a children’s Halloween Party on at Craobh Chiaráin.
It was a marvellous night for a Moondance.
Next door, the Parnell Park floodlights were beaming. It was cold but dry. A breeze blew down the pitch into the Craobh end.
Referee, Rory Hanley of St Brigid’s, went out early to walk the turf. It was the first Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior Hurling Championship for the young man. It won’t be his last.
The Man from Clare, Paddy Power, looked on. He refereed for 28 years.
He was the most nimble of corner-forwards. The golden days of Kilmore. Dublin Intermediate Football champions.
The huge RTÉ trucks were in place behind the church goal. A television camera hoist hovered over the goal.
The RTÉ panel were in the corner beside the pavilion. The umpires walked out. Their white coats dazzling under the bulbs.
In the match programme, the Na Fianna captain, Dónal Burke, picked his Dream Team. His goalkeeper was Jimmy Gray.
Dónal and the Lucan skipper, Chris Crummey, revealed that the sportsperson they would most like to meet is Michael Jordan.
Eileen Troy arrived. Her son, PJ, was one of the finest young sportsmen of all. Whitehall’s annual PJ Troy Hurling Tournament honours his memory.
The President, Jarlath Burns, took his seat. As Dublin Hurling’s showcase fixture produced a Saturday night Hitchcock thriller.
Dónal Burke, 11, celebrates with team-mates
A big crowd. All enchanted by the first touch and the grace, and the guile, under pressure. The stars in the sky being out-shone by the stars below.
The Lucan manager, Kilkenny’s Charlie Carter, was on the sideline. Wearing a baseball cap. He could crack the ball like Joe Di Maggio.
Sarsfields couldn’t have played any better. Given anymore. They left every ounce on the Donnycarney grass.
It was their second final. In 2013, they lost to the five-in-a-row Ballyboden St Enda’s team by three points.
And now they pushed the All-Ireland champions to one point, 1-20 to 0-22.
The least Lucan deserved was extra-time. A contest like this deserved a replay.
It was level 11 times, eight times in the second half as the drama built towards a crescendo.
Na Fianna’s brilliant midfielder, Brian Ryan, had kind words for Lucan.
“Lucan were excellent. With the wind in the first half, we were hoping to be a few points up at half-time, but we only led by a point, 0-11 to 0-10.
“Lucan maintained their high level in the second half. They came so close. You’d have to feel for them, but we have been in the same situation ourselves.”
It was Na Fianna’s fifth successive final. They lost the first two. They were seeking the three-in-a-row, and that can be a heavy chain around the ankles.
They were chasing the game for most of the hour. And, at times, it looked like the crown might be slipping away.
But the young men of Glasnevin are big fans of Dad’s Army – ‘Don’t panic, Captain Mainwaring!’
a Fianna players Brian Ryan, right, and Donal Burke celebrate
“We just found a way to win. We have been in those positions many times before,” reflected Brian as he obliged a young fan with an autograph.
“This year, it looked like we were down and out against Cuala, and it was something similar against St Vincent’s last season.
“And even when Lucan went two points clear with time almost up, we didn’t panic. We stayed calm, we kept doing the simple things.
“We kept working the ball. We weren’t just hitting it long for the sake of it. I always feel it’s a good sign of a team that, against the odds, keeps believing in what they are doing, and manages to pull out a result from thin air.”
Brian himself pulled a beauty out of thin air deep in the second half as he plucked a ball from the clouds and popped it over the bar with Lucan leading by two points at the time. It was a crucial score.
Lucan played with so much energy. It was like they had marked every breaking ball ‘Private Property.’
Ronan Smith was superb. Charlie Keher hit some porcelain points, and Ben Coffey excelled on the placed balls.
The Lucan goalkeeper, Seanie McClelland, landed a free from the car park. The Na Fianna number 1, Jono Tracey, can also send the sliotar over the moon.
Colin Currie was precision itself. AJ Murphy has such wonderful balance. He could turn on a Euro.
In the opening period, Na Fianna’s right half-back, Paul O’Dea, had the ball deep in his own half.
“Over the bar,” came an optimistic voice in the crowd. Paul obliged.
Dónal Burke’s advice to kids is to “practice, practice, practice.” He spends hours on the Driving Range that is the Mobhi Road.
He drilled in a second half penalty. Not even Jimmy Gray would have saved it.
Late on, at the height of the drama, Colin Currie’s free brought the equaliser.
Then, when most were expecting extra-time, Colin’s brother, Seán, got the sliotar in his hand to the left of the posts, made half a yard and hit it for six.
Na Fianna had won the Lotto.
They’ll now travel to Wexford to face St Martin’s in the Leinster Championship on November 9.
“Winning three-in-a-row in Dublin is a great achievement for this team,” declared Brian Ryan.
“Going back the years, not many clubs have managed to do it, so it’s nice that Na Fianna are now part of that history.”