Champion salute
By Shane Brophy
Sometimes, fate plays a part in life, and it was hard to get away from feeling that the late Dillon Quirke helped inspire Kilruane MacDonaghs to become county senior hurling champions on Sunday.
His untimely death with cast a shadow over this championship when it is remembered long into the future and while it wasn’t his native Clonoulty/Rossmore who were inspired to win in his memory, it was the team he was playing against on that fateful evening who were.
And it was into the Town End goal in the second half where Kilruane set about dismantling Kiladangan in impressive fashion, outscoring their opponents 2-13 to 0-7 to turn a five-point half time deficit into a seven-point victory.
As the celebrations were in full swing among the supporters, manager Liam O’Kelly quietly took his players and the Dan Breen cup to near the spot where Dillon fell to the ground on August 5th last, saying a few words, before raising a red helmet into the air, reminiscent of Dillon’s similar salute following Clonoulty’s 2018 success has become iconic.
“I just spoke about where we had come from on the night,” O’Kelly said of the meaning of it.
“We had won but it was important to remember where we had come from.
“We were all here the night that poor Dillon passed away. So, I thought after the final that we would kneel down there, and we had a red helmet to signify Dillon.
“The first man to come over to me – the game wasn’t over two minutes – was Dan, Dillon’s father. He came over to the side-line and shook my hand. The bond between Kilruane and Clonoulty is absolutely phenomenal.”
Such a tragedy can make or break and team and added to the injury to Craig Morgan, it brought Kilruane closer together and ensured they were not going to be denied their destiny, ending a 37-year wait for another county title.
“If ever we needed something to give us perspective in life and how precious it is, it was that day in August,” added Kilruane captain Jerome Cahill, and former county teammate of Dillon’s.
“It was a unique position for us as a team to be in, and it brought us closer and contributed to that unity that got us over the line today.”
More county final coverage on pages 67-71