Birthdays as you get older aren't quite the same as they were as a youngster. Gone are the days of parties at the village hall where the entire class are invited for hours of running around, bouncy castles, cake and jelly.
Equally as far in the distance seem those days out drinking long into the night and having the full day to feel like death the morning after. The approach to 40 is now spent taking little ones to gymnastics and to the park (in no way am I complaining about that to be honest) rather than to pubs and bars.
This year, however, we wanted to do something slightly different and decided on a 36 hour escape to Dublin and, because it was my birthday treat, chose a trip to Croke Park to watch two disciplines Gaelic Games - hurling and football.
Croke Park is an impressive arena that I would love to experience when sold out, with just over 18,000 in attendance for this double header. Three huge stands make up the stadium along with the famous Dineen Hill terracing where the locals created a blue wall for the football match later in the evening.
Taking our seats low in the Cusack Stand with a low vantage point that made us feel we were on the pitch, we settled in to watch two sports that we knew next to nothing about! First up, Dublin's hurlers took on Offaly in a tightly contested match that hooked us both and produced a dramatic finish. Dublin seemed to race into the lead but Offaly would not let them get away, trailing by four points at the break.
The visitors continued to show that resilience and were rewarded when Dublin had a man sent off and we were set for a truly thrilling end to an enthralling first experience of hurling. Offaly edged themselves in front only for Dublin to score the only goal of the game to send the crowd, including us two novices, into raptures at the thought of an unlikely victory. It was, however, not to be as Offaly regained the lead and ran out 1-23 to 0-27 victors.
Immediately, we both said how we would love the chance to attend a hurling contest again and experience the atmosphere of the All-Ireland Championships.
Our second instalment was the football match with Derry as the visitors. This contest was not as close fought as the hurling match but did throw up some very interesting tactics. We initially sat in amazement as the goalkeepers of both sides were played as the extra outfield player but leaving the goal exposed.
In truth, this game wasn't as engaging as the hurling and that was in no small part due to the distance in quality between the sides and the game being over score wise early on. The Dubs ran out out comfortable winners 3-20 to 2-12.
Our first experience of Gaelic sport was a fantastic one and we were certainly fully invested in the hurling, sharing in the disappointment of the last gasp defeat.
Croke Park is an impressive venue and one to which I would love to return for more competitive action and can only imagine what it will be like with a packed out 80,000 plus spectators for an All-Ireland Final or even the upcoming visit by the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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