This article was originally published on Balls.ie in 2016
Standing in the queue for some temporary toilets at the Big Tree in Drumcondra after the 2014 All-Ireland Hurling Final replay, two Kilkenny women - obligatorily intoxicated - were heard to sing '34 All-Irelands, all I want is 35...'.
It was an updated version of a song from Kilkenny's homecoming celebrations after the 2011 All-Ireland final. That year, Kilkenny had retaken the All-Ireland title after Tipp's 2010 shutdown of the Cats' 'drive for five'.
The victorious Kilkenny team on stage that night included John Mulhall, a man who had just won his first (and only) All-Ireland medal.
Mulhall took the microphone and blasted out a song which has become a minor YouTube hit.
Along with lines about Martin Fogarty being from Comer (which Brian Cody adored) and TJ Reid's lack of employment, it also featured the verse 'Now we've taken back our throne/Tipperary póg mo thóin/Liam McCarthy's comin' fuckin' home'.
Once finished, Mulhall relinquished the microphone to Brian Cody who declared, to much amusement in the crowd, "You've probably just witnessed a performance by a fella who is probably going to have the shortest inter-county career of all-time".
When Mulhall departed the Kilkenny panel the following year, it went down in apocryphal GAA lore that it was down to the song.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mulhall - who on stage stated that he had written the song - told the real story behind it.
That was good craic. It was penned by Matthew Ruth and a couple of fellas after the semi-final. I just happened to be there and the rest of it was written the week before by myself and a couple of other lads down in UL. It kind of spiralled out of control then. It could have been anyone who sang it but I got pushed up!
He also related why he really left the Kilkenny panel in 2012.
I just wasn’t hurling well in that league. I kept coming on and was getting 10 minutes and I’d hit a ball wide and getting anxious that I need to be scoring to get into the team. The more I tried, the worse I got. I was probably trying to impress him too much and was driving two or three wide instead of laying off handy ball. That’s what I thought I needed to do.
You can watch Mulhall's performance below.
