20 years young and fearless as you like.
Limerick went into the half-time break four points to the good against Galway. The likes of Conor Whelan, Johnny Glynn and Joe Canning had yet to fire.
Surely the second half would be different?
The game needed a player to step up and grab it by the scruff. Limerick would either press on or Galway would come roaring back.
There were top-class players all over the Croke Park pitch but, when that catalyst was needed, Kyle Hayes delivered. Limerick's lead swelled from four to eight points and the Ahane clubman lapped over three of them. Belief coarsed through his veins and teammates fed off tis young man's confidence.
Galway eventually got going but their injury-time flurry was not enough
and The Treaty County were All-Ireland champions. Following the game, Limerick captain Declan Hannon said:
"It's a dream come through. I think we all played out this scenario since when we were four or five years of age.... that [togetherness] stretches back to last November when we all got together for a boxing camp.
"It was just about going and going and going. I know we didn't score much in the final few minutes but, ah look, we're just delighted."
RTE's Claire McNanamara then caught up with Hayes and he also mentioned that boxing training, late last year, that helped the team bond ahead of the 2018 season.
"We were boxing the head off each other in October and now we're lifting the trophy!"
That boxing camp saw
several members of the Limerick panel training from late October and all the way through November for the fundraiser at the South Court Hotel on December 9.
https://twitter.com/LimerickCLG/status/938123479953690624
The scheduled bouts were:
- Colin Ryan Vs. Oisín O'Reilly.
- Andrew La Touche Cosgrave Vs. Darragh O’Donovan.
- Sean Finn Vs. Pat Ryan.
- Barry Hennessy Vs. Paul Browne.
- Tom Morrissey Vs. Declan Hannon.
- Barry Nash Vs. Seamus Flanagan.
- Aaron Gillane Vs. David Reidy.
- Diarmaid Byrnes Vs. Kyle Hayes.
- Richie English Vs. Cian Lynch.
https://twitter.com/SiobhS79/status/938319087855390720
From knocking tar out of each other to lifting the Liam MacCarthy together. An incredible 10 months.
