Match-winner Billy adds to the O’Brien Minor legacy

By Shane Brophy

Long after the celebrations had died down as the Tipperary players were slowly moving towards the dressing rooms at UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday evening, you would have forgiven a little tiredness began to set in.

Such were the depths the eighteen players that performed in the game went to, one wondered when the wall would come.

There is no end to these players and Billy O’Brien epitomised this. From early on, the midfielder was prominent, particularly effective in the rucks and won a number of frees.

The longer the match went on, the better he got, coming to the fore in extra time where he landed a long range point in the first period and had the legs to get forward to unluckily see a shot come back off the post.

Another set-back, but each knock seemed to inspire Tipperary to give more and when presented with the same opening three minutes from the end of extra time, he didn’t think twice about going for goal again.

“Austin (Duff) found me with that ball, and it just opened up and took the shot. I’m just delighted,” O’Brien said.

“I’m just part of the team and everyone puts in a shift, and even though we were down to thirteen men everyone just upped it a level and I’m delighted to get that result in the end.”

Billy joins his namesake grandfather in being an All-Ireland Minor medal winner as the successes of 1946 and 2024 are now inextricably linked, with the steel of the great old Tipperary teams of the past coming to the fore in this special performance.

“Down to thirteen men, we never put that in our heads that we were down to thirteen men, we just drove on, steeled the mind, and grinded it out for a finish,” O’Brien added.

“The crowd were brilliant; they really drive us on. Even to have it in Nowlan Park, I’d say it was three quarters Tipp and it really drove us on.”