The 'Clash of the Ash' has long since been mythologised in Irish culture, but this year's championship has given another clash for us to savour: colours.
GAA kits have come a long way since Dublin changed the colour of their shorts to a navy blue under advice from RTE in the early 1970s (their previous shorts were difficult to distinguish on black-and-white TVs).
That's no longer an issue, however, and technological advances mean we can see a whole tapestry of GAA kits in glorious, vibrant technicolour.
One of the great traditions of the GAA is the fact that, in the event of a clash, both teams change, and it has led to the unveiling of a few delightful changed strips thus far.
The latest example was at Croke Park yesterday, as both Galway and Wexford changed for their Leinster hurling final. We are big fans of the Wexford home strip, but the alternative strip is a very fine effort:
But Wexford were trumped on the day by Galway, and not solely on the scoreboard...
There have been plenty of other alternate kits on show this summer, too.
We aren't used to seeing Waterford play in this deep a shade of blue, but it should arguably be installed as the county's primary colours.
Their opponents on that occasion, Derry, reversed their colours, and we think we prefer this dominantly red jersey.
There are a few others that we have yet to see in the Championship thus far. Some we won't see at all, unfortunately, like this fine Longford effort (which they presumably haven't borrowed from fans).
Longford are responsible for dumping Louth out of the Championship, meaning we won't be seeing another fine reversal of colours:
We might have compensation for missing out on Louth, mind. The changed Cork strip is pretty similar:
In fact, we think that Down's changed strip is the only one which is objectively inferior to the regular strip, leaving nostalgia and tradition aside.
The same cannot be said for Armagh.
Have we omitted any other great alternate jerseys?
Do let us know.
