Emmet Moloney writes for the 'Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

You can forget about your full house in Croke Park or Semple Stadium. The Kerry county hurling final is what the GAA is all about. Emmet Moloney was there...

There might have been only 4,000 in Austin Stack Park in Tralee last Sunday, but the majority of them were diehards. Kilmoyley were playing Causeway in a hurling final in the middle of football country.

There are no footballs to be found in Kilmoyley. This is hurling country. Real hurling country. They talk nothing else. Not even medical cards. On Sunday night Neilus Flynn (the Kerry hurling cup) was back in his familiar surrounds and neighbours Causeway were well beaten. I spent a pleasant evening in their company and came away from North Kerry in love with hurling again.

The match wasn’t a contest. Causeway fought hard to reach this final but, as is often the way, having got there, they just didn’t perform. Kilmoyley, on the other hand, had unfinished business. Last year they had flopped on final day so they know what it’s all about. On Sunday they ran through the gears and scored an impressive 2-18 on the way to victory.

But that’s not the story here. The good news is what winning a county title means to a club and a small parish like Kilmoyley. The entire place is lifted. Fathers are proud of sons, kids look for autographs, the WAGS get a great night out, everyone hugs everyone. There is no bad mood in the place.

And all because 20 fellas ran around a heavy field on a Sunday afternoon in October chasing a small, wet ball. In between the chasing, one or two got clattered, testosterone flowed freely and some harsh words were aimed at players and the man in the middle, referee John Sexton from Cork.

Families wore the colours and roared on their brethren. Fever pitch excitement greeted the last whistle and half of these men on the field finally celebrated the culmination of six or eight months of preparation. This is what it was all about. A huge silver chalice named in honour of Neilus Flynn. This is the GAA at its finest. The founding fathers were aiming for this back in Hayes’s Hotel in 1884.

Mick Regan captained Kilmoyley to win Neilus back in 1964. I shared as enjoyable a pint as you can with any man in the Tochar in Kilmoyley on Sunday evening. He had two sons involved and to hear Mick talk I half thought he was playing himself. Still farming, hurling is his real passion. And what’s more, DJ was better than Ring, he claims: “And I saw them both!”

At the back of the bar was a marquee and they blazed away till the small hours. For a Clareman it was an eye-opener. This is how clubs should behave. After the match there was a meal together and on the Monday both sides were gathered for a post-match dinner, à la the All-Ireland finals. Hurling in Kerry might be playing second fiddle to football, but those involved in nourishing our native game in the north of that county are to be applauded and encouraged. I defy Kilkenny to get as much enjoyment out of it as they do.

Of course the hurling isn’t first class. But style is exchanged for heart. There is skill aplenty, but bravery and brains come first. The Kilmoyley full-forward is nicknamed PR and if ever a man epitomised that credo it was he. A former full-back of note, he is now a converted number 14 and he broke nearly every ball that came his way. It mightn’t be the classic full-forward play, but in Kerry it is effective. And that’s what wins county championships.

John Meyler, the man jettisoned by Wexford a week or two ago was very visible on the field after the match. Meyler had coached Kilmoyley for seven years. He’s been gone a while and Anthony Daly is in situ now, but Meyler was there. Celebrating with his former team, he is a hurling man. And hurling men can appreciate what a Kerry hurling title means. Don’t let any cynic tell you that the likes of John Meyler and Anthony Daly are in it for the money. They are in it for the people.

I suppose I have a soft spot for enclaves like North Kerry. And there are many of them dotted around the four provinces. These are the special Sundays. Read the paper on Monday morning and look for the county final reports. There’s history made every weekend.

So, thanks for the bed and breakfast Maurice; the fry was very welcome. Good luck against Blarney on Sunday week.

Keep fighting the good fight.

To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...