(Reuters) -More than 82,000 fans will roar themselves hoarse inside Croke Park on Sunday, as tradition and rivalry collide with speed, skill and ferocity when Cork and Tipperary contest the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final.
These Munster giants -- two of hurling's three most successful counties, alongside Kilkenny -- meet for the first time in the decider, a fixture rich in history and folklore.
Remarkably, despite contesting 16 All-Ireland finals between them since the backdoor system was introduced in 1997 — making an all-Munster final possible — Cork and Tipperary have never met at this stage until now.
Cork, 30-time champions, last lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2005. Tipperary aim to preserve their record of winning an All-Ireland in every decade since victory in the first final in 1887 and secure a 29th title in the process.
With tickets like gold dust, the rest of the nation will be glued to their screens. The BBC will broadcast the match live in Britain, while the Irish diaspora tunes in from Addis Ababa to Australia.
Croke Park on All-Ireland Sunday is the promised land for those raised with a hurley always to hand, and these amateur athletes will hold a nation spellbound as they step onto hallowed turf.
Hurling -- Ireland's ancient stick-and-ball sport -- uses curved ash hurleys to strike a leather ball, or sliotar. One point is scored by sending the ball over the crossbar; three points if struck past the keeper and into the net below.
Unique to Ireland, hurling -- one of the world's fastest field sports -- combines the speed and aggression of ice hockey, the physicality of rugby, the aerial skill of lacrosse and the precision of baseball, with perhaps the grace of figure skating.
But, to grasp the occasion's scale and how it continues to outshine the glamorous world of international sport, it is more important to understand what hurling means rather than how it is played.
Part of Ireland's heritage and heartbeat, hurling is a living tradition steeped in mythology, where the hurler carries the aura of a warrior, a status linked to the legend of Cu Chulainn.
Setanta, later known as Cu Chulainn, famously slew a savage hound with his hurley and sliotar - later defending Ulster single-handedly in battle.
That warrior legacy lives on in today's amateur athletes who train like professionals, yet play for pride, not pay. In an era dominated by contracts and endorsements, hurling remains rooted in community and tradition.
These players juggle jobs, studies and family life, yet still commit to punishing training schedules and fierce competition, all for the honour of representing their county.
Their road to the final began in Munster where Cork defeated Tipperary by 15 points and went on to claim the provincial title, securing a direct route to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Tipperary came through the preliminary quarter-finals, then edged Kilkenny in the semis. Cork, meanwhile, overwhelmed Dublin, scoring seven goals in ruthless fashion.
Sunday's final is a repeat of this year's league decider, where Cork also triumphed. They enter Croke Park as heavy favourites, eager to avenge last year's extra-time heartbreak against Clare.
Tipperary are happy to wear the underdog tag, and let that 20-year wait weigh heavily on Cork shoulders.
Come Sunday, the clash of the ash will echo around a rocking Croke Park, as hurling once again takes centre stage in Irish hearts and minds - and perhaps stirs the imaginations of a global audience discovering its fierce beauty for the very first time.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes)
