Kerry woman Grace O'Sullivan, who lives in Eyeries, west Cork, was surrounded by a sea of red in the days prior to the All-Ireland football final, so she could be forgiven for feeling a bit smug yesterday as the Kingdom completed a comprehensive win over a struggling Cork team.
A brave Grace hung the Kerry flag out the bedroom window in Eyeries earlier this week and her three-year-old daughter Rachel even wore the Kingdom's colours around town.
Gaelic football fans in the small town quickly carried out a "counter-attack", covering the local post office in Cork flags.
Grace, her husband Christopher and daughter Rachel made the journey to Lauragh in Kerry yesterday to watch the match with relatives. However, following the Kerry win, Grace said she was looking forward to returning home triumphant last night.
"It [the match] was fantastic. I can't wait to go back to Eyeries. Rachel thought the match was great. She was shouting Kerry all the way. Our car is decorated in the Kerry colours so I will love going back to Eyeries."
Meanwhile, Grace's neighbour, retired postmistress Joan Lynch, said she was "very disappointed" with the outcome of the match.
"Cork played better in the Munster final . . . They [ Kerry] are so experienced and they have been in All-Irelands so many times. A lot of the Cork guys are very young. It would be the icing on the cake for Billy Morgan [the Cork manager] if Cork had won. But it is just so tough to beat Kerry."
Ms Lynch's brother John, who also lives in Eyeries, said Cork fans couldn't do anything but be philosophical about the defeat. He joked that Gaelic football wasn't a sport with any particular skill and claimed it was far inferior to hurling.
"Years ago when I worked in Dublin, the Kerry lads would always be gloating when they beat Cork and I just turned to them one day and said that it was only people who couldn't hurl played football. The match was disappointing though."