The planning is done. The bags are packed. We're ready to go.
Every trip back "home" is a special one but the weekend ahead is one we've been talking about for months.
After a night in Dublin, we will head to Clones. Home to my aunts, uncles and cousins. Home to the Round Tower and the beautiful Ulster Canal (again).
And since 1906, home to the Ulster Final.
I attended the Ulster Final with my dad and brother-in-law in 1995, a story I was lucky enough to share with Joe Finnegan on Northern Sound radio yesterday morning (you check it out HERE, thanks Joe!) In the 31 years since, I have followed the GAA from this side of the Atlantic, always aware of the Ulster Final and just how important it is to Clones.
During a visit last year, my cousin Eamon and I were out for a pint and over the course of the night the conversation with some locals turned towards the future of the Ulster Final in Clones. With the never ending saga of Casement Park we wondered just how long the final would remain in the town that has helped define the match for over a century.
It was at that point that I knew that my family had to come back for the final while we still could. Conversations were started, plans were mapped out and the wheels were in motion.
Tonight we leave for Clones and the Ulster Final.
I will be chronicling this trip here on the blog with plans to share our experience following the Championship from New York over the last few weeks, the excitement of the day in Clones and most importantly a call to keep the match where it belongs.