BIG PERIOD FOR TEMPLEOGUE MEN AS FINALS BECKON

-Two big cup finals on Saturday in the AUL complex, both AFL competitions as Ashbourne face Baldoyle United in the Jim Byrne final on pitch 10 at 2pm and, an hour before that Sandyhill Shangan face Templeogue in the Leinster Over 35's final.

Well I say two AFL competitions, the Leinster final obviously isn't but there are two AFL teams involved once again.

The Byrne Cup is for teams from Division 1 North and South and both the finalists are from the North section. The teams that finished, or will finish, second and third to Ballymun United in the section and congrats to Ballymun the winners of the league.

Clarkey Calling

Templeogue will also contest 'The Big One' when they face Mountview in the Amateur Cup final.

This will be the 45th presentation of that huge Amateur Cup. I know because I received a winners medal when it was first won by Malahide in 1977. It was my first season out of Under 19 football and I played in the early rounds.

A measure of the league's standard that year-well in the quarter-finals on the Coast Road, Malahide defeated St. Kevin's 3-2. Paul Kirwan and I think Joe Malone were playing for Kevin's and Micky Wright lined out for Malahide.

Three years later all three played for St. Pat's in the FAI Cup final and the Pat's left-back on the day-George Munnelly, later joined Malahide and served as a player and treasurer for the club.

I'm not sure if Joey played but the previous year I played alongside him for the AFL youth team in the final of the FAI youth inter-league competition. In 1977 Packie Bonner was the goalkeeper for the winners of that Inter-League tournament.

**The Ireland team of Paul Darragh, Capt., Con Power, James Kernan and Eddie Macken win the Aga Khan Cup outright for the first time since 1937.**

The story though, as far as I know, was that The Aga Khan trophy went missing in '77. This trophy was awarded annually at The RDS to the winners of The Nations Cup in showjumping.

At the time it was all we had. That and Dana winning the Eurovision. As kids we would erect fences in the garden and jump over them pretending to be horses, and they say kids today are messed up?

Anyway, what is now the Amateur Cup was purchased as a replacement for the Aga Khan trophy. However the original was found and the astute AFL committee made a bid to buy the replacement trophy.

They paid a pretty penny, but still got a bargain. Ireland actually won the Nations Cup that year with a team of Eddie Macken, Captain Con Power, James Kernan and the late, great Paul Darragh.

All around D4 the pubs were hopping in celebration with chants of ooh-aah Paul Darr-agh! Ironically though Ireland managed to win it the following two years also and, by achieving the three-in-a-row, they kept the trophy.

So the Aga Khan had to fork out for a new one anyway, but they weren't getting the old one back.

Now at the time, in Malahide, there was a legend called Al Kelly-Mor. He owned a small hotel across the way from the Grand Hotel. It was called the Grove Hotel.

Many believed that John Cleese based his character Basil Fawlty on Big Al Kelly-Mor.

Al was tall, gangly and owned a seaside hotel. He also was blessed with all of Basil's unfortunate traits. In fact he later called the restaurant 'Fawlty Towers' there on Grove Road.

Now Big Al noticed a shamozzle down the village as a couple of buses were headed to Tolka Park. He was told about the cup final and promised to fill the cup if Malahide won it.

Now Malahide did win it but the 'new' cup needed some adjustments and so Tony Bennett was presented with the old trophy. As soon though as the new giant cup was ready the boys were off down to Basil, I mean Al, well you can only imagine his reaction when he saw what he had promised to fill.

Anyway at time of writing, we have no date for the final. I'm sure the committee are waiting for the Leinster outcome. It will be in the next two weeks I would imagine.

Good luck to Templeogue, Sandyhill, Ashbourne and Baldoyle this weekend and to Templeogue and Mountview in the final of 'THE BIG ONE!'