Yesterday was an odd day for An Maor... He saw himself on RTE’s ‘Sunday Game’ on the sideline after the Dublin v Wexford game and realised that yes his long-suffering missus is right!! An Maor is going bald! The small ‘monk’ style spot is clearly visible and there it was in all its glory for the nation to see...

Earlier, An Maor had heard what sounded like a rally in a crèche as the Louth fans chanted "Wee , Wee, Wee , Wee, Wee , Wee.". It's a shame we won’t see Louth again this summer as their fans are great fun. But that should be no surprise from a county whose last All Ireland wining team – in ’57 – was captained by a ‘champeen’ accordion player. In fact, An Maor can’t exactly remember who played better that day – Dermot O’Brien or his accordion?

The Louth fans were genuinely confident of victory and travelled in numbers. The Kildare crowd was cautious, the Wexford crowd hard to find and the Dubs in no

mood for anything less than a thrashing of Wexford. Poor oul Con Houlihan limped in on crutches, to his usual Canal End spot, not looking too well – one of the greats of GAA journalism.

The Great Official Kildare Fan Himself, Charlie McCreevy was there with all the family. Appropriately enough, he was comfortably ensconced in the ‘corporate’ level and must be feeling he got good value out of the IR£20 million he forked out for Croker in one of his budgets a few years ago. That was the one where he couldn’t find enough to give the old age pensioners a bigger increase than inflation. Oul SuperDub Himself, Bertie was there, of course, with his faithful sidekick, The Tomato Doctor Himself, Michael Woods along with the biggest meanest looking bodyguard you ever did see. The type of lad that could go into any pub in Clare and raise a toast to Jimmy Cooney and get more drink bought for him. (Obviously, Bertie is fully recovered from his proximity to that big gas explosion in the Killarney restaurant a few weeks ago. An Maor thinks that may not be the only ‘explosion’ coming out of the bowels of Kerry this year.)

As for the games, Kildare were tougher than An Maor had seen them in a while and

Martin Lynch worked out well in midfield. They shot too many wides, that old failing. It drove the LilyWhite fans mad as a lot of lovely moves just ended with a poor finish. Louth seemed to take most of their chances. In the end, Kildare came good but they will find it hard against Offaly.

The double header is a great idea, but yesterday AM doesn’t know why they put Dublin on second. The Kildare and Louth crowd left after the first game as they presumed that the Dublin game was a no contest. So the place looked half-empty despite a near capacity crowd. It makes a Maor’s job easier but there was little or no atmosphere in the second game and God knows how Dublin will play against real opposition. Vinnie Murphy and Jayo looked good for the first time in ages, but one swallow doesn't make a summer...

Then Jayo was called upon to kiss a Dublin clad baby. Ah, they still love him.