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Top cats  By
David Thorpe
It was supposed to be the hurling final which few would remember but
the emotional scenes at Croke Park afterwards are something that no-one
will forget.
This Kilkenny team are supposed to be machine-like, as close to total
hurlers as you can get.
They were winning their fifth title in seven years but this team is united
by more than an unquenchable desire to succeed.
The death of goalkeeper James McGarry’s wife Vannessa in an accident
at the end of July brought the panel together even more. Winning the title
was no longer simply a matter a proving they were the best this time —
it was personal and Limerick had no answer.
The ferocity of the Kilkenny tackles caused a few of the younger Limerick
players to wilt.
Two Cats goals in the first nine minutes saw the look in the Kilkenny
players eyes grow even steelier — this game was in memory of the
McGarry family and they were determined to bring home the prize.
James McGarry was in Croke Park on Sunday — his voice hoarse from
cheering his friends on, his eyes red from the tears he spilled at the
memory of the past All-Ireland Sundays he shared with his wife.
When Cats captain Henry Shefflin climbed the Croke Park steps to collect
the Liam McCarthy Cup it was McGarry who was at his side.
All of the speeches mentioned James and his young son Daragh.
It was the moment when this year’s hurling Championship was transformed
from an epic which sports fans could enjoy into an epic human story.
The game itself descended quickly from a disappointing affair to an uninteresting
one. Limerick tried hard but hadn’t the quality to trouble the superb
Kilkenny defence.
Even after a superb Ollie Moran goal in the second-half their deficit
stubbornly refused to drop below the six point mark.
Whenever they caught sight of Limerick’s shadow in the corner of
their eye the Cats were able to move effortlessly up a gear and add more
scores to make sure that the Kilkenny players could spend the last 10
minutes planning what to say when they reached the podium to collect their
medals.
For Brian Cody it was the “best victory we have ever had”.
For Henry Shefflin it was “the moment I have been dreaming of since
I was a child in Ballyhale”.
Every member of the Kilkenny team has a mantelpiece weighed down with
medals but Sunday’s triumph was for the community, the neighbour,
all of those things which make the GAA so special.
n Full match report, see pages 62-63. |
