It may not have the crowds of an All-Ireland Final, nor the coverage of the Provincial hurling finals but Monday’s Cumann na mBunscoil Finals will create just as long-lasting a memory for the players.
Staged at Croke Park and with an attendance drawn from parents, grandparents and busloads of schoolchildren already giddy with the prospect of summer ahead, the Finals are one of the most joyous events that the stadium hosts all year.
Imagine the feeling as you walk out onto the turf, representing the school where you have spent the early years of your life, in what might well be the last few weeks of that chapter.
You are playing alongside your friends, without the club rivalries that can sometimes get in the way at the weekend, and you are being cheered on by the whole school behind you.
Every time you go there in the future, to support your county, you will know where the players have come from, what the dressing rooms are like, how the pitch feels different underfoot to any other you have played on.
Allianz has sponsored the League for more than 30 years and the All-Ireland since last year. But if there is one element of their extensive sponsorship portfolio that leaves a warmer glow for those involved, then it is on these days in June when the kids come to play.
