1. Crepe Hats: Ah yes, the favoured head wear of the discerning GAA fan throughout the 80’s, crepe hats must rank as the singularly most diabolical fashion accessory ever conceived. The coloured crepe was knotted on the crown of the rounded hat to provide the fan with a neat tassel pointing to the heavens. Not only did they resemble a pot atop your head, but when it rained the colour ran all over your face. 2. Unofficial Programmes: The scourge of the countryman visiting Croke Park, unofficial programmes were a crude imitation of the real thing, and were only ever bought by the first time matchgoers or the very stupid. Are probably worth a mint to programme collectors now though. My oul fella consistently fell for this cunning ruse (and he was never a first time matchgoer!).3. Gola Football Boots: Barely a young fella worthy of the name wore anything other than Gola in the 70’s and 80’s. Sturdy and reliable, they were also very keenly priced, which made it easy for Mammies to cope with the needs of growing feet. If you saw a lad wearing Nike or Puma, he was sure to be a poser and worthy of a dig or two in the ribs. 'Get thee to a soccer field young man.'4. Blackthorn Football Boots: The first ever boot designed specifically for GAA players. Viable alternative to Gola and saved ribs from treatment outlined in 3 above.5. Tiffin Bars: In all my years living down the country, I never once saw a Tiffin bar on the shelf in any shop. You could get them on a trip to Croke Park though. Are probably now to be found on a shelf somewhere in the GAA museum.6. Duffel Coats: The thermal protection of choice for GAA fans, Lefty activists and schoolchildren alike, Duffel coats provided outstanding protection from all of the elements, but when it rained, they weighed a ton. Nike and Puma boot wearers wore navy versions with red bullet-like buttons. For the rest of us the browner the better.7. Wrist Bands: Popularised in the main by Heffo’s Dubs and Mc Gee’s Offaly at the start of the 80’s, they made a brief appearance at Club matches in the early to mid-80’s. Are now the sole preserve of the same people who wore Puma and Nike boots and Duffel coats with red buttons. 8. Fertiliser Bags for sideline Flags: A dying tradition, IAWS once provided every GAA club in Ireland with sideline flags; little triangles of 10-10-20 bags roughly tacked to stumps of timber which were impossible to place upright along the end line if the ground was hard. This tradition faced it’s nadir when some bright spark came up with the idea of nailing the fertilizer bags in the team colours to ESB poles during extended championship runs.9. The Choc Ice Man/The HB Tub Man: “Was the sun always shining back then Daddy?”. Well I’m not sure, but we certainly had Choc Ice Men and HB tub men getting in our way at crucial times in Championship games. Never mind the sellers, whatever happened to the wee red HB tubs?10. Lifting Children over the stiles: Lord do I remember the pain in 1985 when the GAA announced that no children would be permitted to be lifted over the stiles for that year’s All-Irelands. Heartbreak. The Oul fella went on his own, but order was restored the following year when despite a similar pronouncement from Croke Park, he assured the Mammy that plenty of children had been lifted through the previous year. Mind you there used be some fairly hairy looking U-12’s being lifted in if I remember right…11. The Schoolboy enclosure on The Hill: It was just a small caged area between The Nally and The Hill proper. Or so I’ve heard. Despite the countless promises from the Oul fella that I would eventually graduate from his knee to this fabled state of independence, it was done away with before I ever got that far.12. Tying your laces round the bottom of your boots: Does anyone know why we used to do this? Maybe some of you still do it. Or were long laces a design feature unique to Blackthorn and GOLA boots?13. Pairc: The first ever GAA board game. When it made the TV advertisements my overactive young mind somehow imagined Subutteo players who could kick the ball over the bar. Instead it was a confusing game of dubious strategy, and after my thrilling Boxing Day victory by 8-1 to 6-0 over the Oul Fella, I retired as undefeated champion. I must check the attic and see if it makes any more sense now….14. Sombreros: Replaced crepe hats as the headgear of the moment in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Inhibited views of both the wearer and those in the general vicinity of said wearer. Brought to GAA prominence by that mad Cork-man with the moustache and 'Up Cork' written on the brim. And to think they gave us Michael Collins…15. The Jimmy Magee All-Stars: Do they still exist? I don’t know, but I do remember being dragged along to watch overweight show biz "stars" laughing their way through slow paced exhibition games in a surreal atmosphere with some buck commentating over a crackling Tannoy. Now when I say “stars”, they meant nothing to me but the oul boy would stare dewy-eyed and mumble something about the showband era and the good old days. Brendan Bowyer and the Pope earned the same degree of awe in our house, but it was all for charity so it can’t have been bad.