WATCH: Bales and bunting in Limerick ahead of All-Ireland hurling final

AS WE said on our front page photo caption, you wouldn’t put a cat out in this weather - well maybe a Kilkenny one - but the rain didn’t stop dairy farmer Roger Mulqueen slaving away on his latest agri-installation for the Limerick hurlers.

He started doing them on his Bruff farm in 2018 and Limerick have kept him busy ever since! This year’s display is inspired by Marty Morrissey’s recent car controversy, and their own great corner back from Bruff.

But the undoubted stars are Roger’s mum Bridie, and Claire O’Shea. Their combined age is 161 but it didn’t stop them being very slowly and gently lifted up in a front loader to wave the Limerick flag.

A&E Sean Finn is written on green and white painted silage bales and accompanied by a mannequin with a cast on its right knee and crutches.

Roger painted a van green and white with the wording “Marty’s taxi for Liam” on the windscreen. The Renault emblem is included and even an 18 CE Marty number plate.

“The news at the moment has all been RTE, Ryan Tubridy and Marty Morrissey so that’s where I got the notion from. I met Marty before at a Cliona’s Foundation dance in Bulgaden and he is up for a laugh in fairness to him.

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“And Sean is the salt of the earth. He is a woeful loss and hopefully Declan Hannon will be back but they always dig in and there is always someone else coming on. Last year we were missing Cian Lynch and Peter Casey for most of the year. I know Kilkenny have improved but I just have that bit of confidence,” said Roger, who knows what he is talking about as he guided Bruff Junior Bs to an All-Ireland final earlier this year.

A great crowd turned up for the Leader photographer proving that the hunger for success is as great as 2018. Although Roger didn’t know what he was getting into back then!

“I most certainly have dug a hole for myself. People were asking me about it before the semi-final and I said wait ‘til we get to the final. Then I said would I bother because we were busy with slurry but I said if I don't do it I'll never hear the end of it,” he laughed.

Roger has tickets and maybe even harder to get - a relief milker, Robbie Walker, Crecora - sorted for Sunday. Interestingly, the man who helped him last year, Dimitri, has gone home to Ukraine to fight in the war.

Roger wished to thank his nephew Oisin for helping stack the silage bales and Ciaran, Jason and Declan, of Raspberry Red in Bruff, for the mannequin.