Leinster Leader, July 28, 1928, page 3
LEINSTER SENIOR FOOTBALL FINAL.
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CHAMPIONS ONE POINT VICTORY.
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ALL WHITE'S BRILLIANT DISPLAY
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UGLY INCIDENTS MAR GREAT GAME.
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DUBLIN CAPTAIN ORDERED OFF.
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TENSE SCENES IN FINAL STAGES.
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There was a record attendance at Croke Park on Sunday when the Kildare
All-Ireland Champions met Dublin in the final of the 1928 Leinster
Senior Football Final. The weather was ideal for the occasion,
a sharp fall of rain in the morning tending to make the pitch more
springy. The rain was succeeded by brilliant sunshine and a light breeze
blowing across the field made conditions ideal. Both teams were well
supported amongst the spectators, the Kildare following including Gaels
of a previous generation, clergy, public representatives, etc. As might
naturally be expected when a team is playing on home ground, the Dubliners
were well supported by a large following drawn from all walks
in life, but in numbers and enthusiasm the Kildare supporters rivalled
their metropolitan friends. In addition to the contingents from the
rival counties every county in Ireland was represented in the vast
gathering which came to witness the brilliant display which the well-known
rivalry of the teams was expected to evoke. They were not disappointed
for the game which followed rivalled in brilliancy anything ever witnessed
in the great Dublin arena. An impressive moment prior to the opening
of the game was provided when the band of the Transport Workers took
its place in front of the grand stand and the vast gathering stood
uncovered and at attention whilst the strains of "The Soldier's Song" brought
memories of dark days when the same arena was the scene of
the blood onslaught commemorated in the Grand Stand erected
to the memory of the Gaels who lost their lives at Croke Park on bloody
Sunday. The members of the teams were in their places and a great silence,
in which the noise of a late-comer's entry could be heard, prevailed
until the final strains of the National Anthem were merged in a great
thunder of cheers as the referee, Jim Byrne of Loc Garmain, piped the
rivals to action.