Johnny Mullan is hoping his orange-tinted Nissan Micra will help drive Armagh to glory in Croke Park as the county goes GAA crazy ahead of their All Ireland match against Galway next week.
Building contractor Johnny, from the border village of Killen outside Killeavy, has followed the Orchardmen the length and breadth of the country this year with his brother in their orange car.
The Orchard-mobile is even expected to make an appearance on RTÉ’s annual Up For The Match programme, broadcast the night before the final.
Johnny will be turning heads on the M1 as he makes his way to Dublin in the Nissan on Sunday week, while he is also raising funds for Care for Caolan, a fundraiser set up to support young Crossmaglen Rangers player Caolan Finnegan, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last year.
“I come from a big GAA family and I’ve followed Armagh for years,” Johnny told the Irish News.
“I was there in 2002 when we won it the last time and I remember one of the local farmers had the sheep painted orange and white.
“I think there has actually been more hype around it this year, the whole county has just gone crazy.”
Up For The Match will air on the night of Saturday 27 July on RTÉ One, the night before the big final, with Johnny and his Micra set to make an appearance.
“We’ve had the filming crews out and it will be great to be a part of it,” Johnny says.
“The phone hasn’t stopped all week, any time you get into the final is fantastic and we have another busy week ahead of us next week.
“Every wee bit will go towards helping Caolan Finnegan and his family and we wish him well with his treatment.”
On his beloved county’s chances of winning their second ever All Ireland title, Johnny is optimistic Armagh can get the job done.
“I think we have it, but it’s all on the day too and the boys have to show up, and we believe that they will.”
