This off-Broadway production between the perceived lesser lights of Wicklow and Carlow is in Wexford town this afternoon, requiring instruction via the local media for Wicklow to take the coast road and Carlow to come in over the hills from Enniscorthy or New Ross.

Welcome to the bargain basement of the GAA.

And yet for all the inconvenience, the faithful from both counties will take to those different roadways in droves because for these fans, supporting the blue and gold or the red, green and yellow is a way of life.

This is the true heartbeat of the GAA. The counties between them have one All Star in 36 years . . . Wicklow's Kevin O'Brien . . . and maybe that more than anything tells you why they are shunted away when it comes to star billing. Carlow were a team of some force half way through the last century; Wicklow languish along with Fermanagh in the footnotes of the honours' list as one of only two counties never to have won senior provincial or national honours.

And so to the 70 minutes that Liam Hayes and Hugh Kenny have worked hard to ensure will result in victory for them today. It used to be said that the real winners of a match between Wicklow and Wexford footballers or indeed Wicklow and Carlow was the losers. Why? Because the county board was spared the expense of a further three weeks to a month's preparation for a certain loss at the hands of a big gun such as Meath or Dublin.

Despite all these traditional belts at the psyche, there is every chance that no game in the land today will engender as much passion and pride as this tilt between Leinster neighbours. Our man Hayes has worked hard in the land of his father and is to be commended for having the bottle to give youth its fling in key positions.

If you are a neutral reading this and want a reason to go to the match, then let Leighton Glynn be it. Here is the last true practitioner of an endangered species called the dual star who is not afraid to mix the big and small game and fear the new-ish quasi-medical complaint called "burnout".

You could argue that Glynn is now the best inter-county dual players actually performing for his county and there are many who would agree that the Rathnew footballer and Glenealy hurler is a modern day Teddy McCarthy.

He is also the Wicklow skipper and won't want Carlow completing a hat-trick of victories against his county.

In 2001 Carlow won a replay by a point, having trailed by eight points at one stage in the drawn game. Three years ago in the qualifiers Carlow again finished like a train to win 0-18 to 0-13 and derail the ambitions of then manager John O'Leary.

If you believe midfield is key, then you are probably right today. The Walsh brothers, Paddy and Tom, look after one another so well that James Stafford and Jacko Dalton will have to scrap for ever ball, high and low. If the Wicklow boys get the upper hand and present good ball, you know that Wayne O'Gorman and Tommy Gill will convert enough chances. Pity is though that Paul Earls . . . who did his best to dismantle Kildare in Croke Park last summer . . . is not fit enough to be in the official party because he can light up a game.

Carlow too have gems inside. Any county would love the services of a Mark Carpenter and Simon Rea. But Hayes will be aware that they suffer good day, bad day experiences . . . last year's Offaly high followed by a spanking from Limerick.

Over the longer stretch of summer and the macro-scale of the championship, this will be considered more a curiosity than a clash of genuine aspirants. But try telling that to the two sets of fans. This folks, is their day. Their All Ireland. At least it will feel like that along the border of west Wicklow and north-east Carlow come this evening.