The fanfare around Armagh’s All-Ireland quest is turning into a real song and dance — in every sense.
The famous soundtrack to the county’s 2002 triumph has been re-released with a 2024 twist ahead of Sunday’s clash with Galway — and is proving just as popular.
Damien Quinn, a folk singer from Newry, composed Come on Armagh in 2002, the year the Orchard Men last won the Sam Maguire trophy.
Now, he’s reworked it ahead of their latest bid for All-Ireland glory.
“In 2002 there was such a buzz, it just took over the whole county. So I decided to put a song out for the All-Ireland final,” he said.
At the time, it soon became a favourite among fans.
“It was a very catchy song so you would have seen all the kids singing — even the young ones, they would have just been chanting Up Armagh,” Damien said.
He believes it was much more difficult to sell a song in 2002.
“Back then it was all cassette tapes, so we had to bring the cassettes to shops all across the county but you would have seen people driving in the cars with the tape playing and you knew how many people were listening to it,” he added.
“They got to the final the next year, in 2003, and it was the same thing, everyone listening in the car so we got two seasons out of it but we knew we needed to update it this year.”
Damien said many Armagh fans urged him to release an updated version when the team beat Kerry in the semi-final earlier this month.
“I had loads of people on to me asking if I was going to update the song, so it was a bit of a rush to get into the studio and record it but we got it done and we got it out,” he continued.
All Damien’s hard work was worth it though, as the song has been widely praised by fans.
“I uploaded it to Facebook and it’s already got a quarter of a million views, so it’s great to see all the fans getting behind it. Everyone just wants the boys to bring Sam back home.”
Damien said he has been blown away by the support the song has received, especially from younger fans.
“It’s great to see the young ones that weren’t even born when Armagh were last in the final singing along to it,” he said.
“Everyone is getting involved — the whole county has been painted orange and white, it has really lifted the mood of people across the county.”
Damien can’t wait for Sunday, and is hopeful Armagh can win the All-Ireland for a second time.
“We have a very strong team, it’s going to be a very tight game but I think people are just looking forward to seeing a final without Dublin and Kerry because that’s what we are accustomed to,” he said.