'Sydney blown away by Tipperary v Kilkenny All-Ireland final rivalry’

A Dundrum man will be flying the Tipperary flag in Seattle, United States, on Sunday.

Oisin Hogan moved to Sydney last year, where he works for Amazon Web Services. “It was something I’ve always wanted to do and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to transfer with work, so I couldn’t turn it down,” he says.

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The 27-year-old is a passionate Tipperary supporter, bringing a Premier County flavour to Australian life on the hurling field.

“There’s a large Irish contingent in Sydney and Australia. I play hurling with Cormac McAnallen’s GAA Club, and we’re going for a league and championship double,” he says.

“The locals love the Irish but struggle big time with the Irish names. GAA, and especially hurling, is reaching the international stage in the last few years and everyone is always blown away by it when I show them YouTube videos of the 2010 final [between Tipperary and Kilkenny].”

Read more: 'I was raised to hate Kilkenny'

The Knockavilla National School and Cashel Cashel Community School graduate will be in Seattle with work on the day of the match, but plans to rise early to cheer on Tipperary in their quest for the Liam MacCarthy Cup. “I plan on watching it at Fado Irish Pub at 7am in the morning with a few of my second and third generation Irish relations that live there,” he says.

In association with Tipperary Pure Irish Water

Oisin says nothing beats the “fierce” Tipperary versus Kilkenny rivalry. “I’ve been to Old Trafford over 20 times, to Wembley for the FA Cup final, the Madrid derby in the Bernabeu, O Clássico (Benfica v Porto) in Portugal, and NFL and baseball games in the United States, but my single greatest sporting experience in my lifetime has been the 2010 All-Ireland win over Kilkenny.

“Even now when the competitiveness of the hurling championship is stronger from other counties, the two have risen to the top once more. I’m feeling nervously confident and going for a Tipperary win by five-plus points. In Sydney, I actually know more people from Limerick and Cork than Tipperary, so it’ll be nice to have the bragging rights over them with a Tipperary win,” he smiles.