When the final whistle blew in Croke Park on Sunday evening, half of the stadium erupted in uproarious celebration as Limerick ended their 45 year wait for an All-Ireland hurling title.
Limerick's victory ended the long exile of Liam McCarthy from the county, and gave John Kiely's men their day in the sun. It also gave us one of the most entertaining phenomenons in Irish sport; the 'Bucko'.
Buckos come in all different shapes and sizes and ages, but the one thing they have in common is that they all love a bit of airtime. Here are the top five Buckos from the All-Ireland Final.
5. Danny Healy-Rae
Is this a waste of a good ticket?!! pic.twitter.com/oKYXLIN9gl
— Shane Ross (@Shane_RossTD) August 20, 2018
Though this is more a case of the cameras coming to him, Danny becomes a victim of social media which has now led to a dispute with Shane Ross, with the minister for sport and transport chiding the politician for falling asleep at the game.
4. Bowler Hat Bucko
This bucko, not happy with just getting his face on telly, also wishes to style himself as a fashion icon with the bowler hat and shirt combo catching the eye and stealing the limelight from Shane Dowling.
3. Galway Wedding Cake Bucko
"We didn't hurl at all we never got out of the blocks," however astute that statement is from a Galway perspective, its credibility drops dramatically when you realise it came from a man that has a wedding cake on his head.
2. TG4 Bucko
Don't mind me folks, just taking a shortcut. #GAA #Tg4 pic.twitter.com/aeP3DQtipv
— JoeLaff (@SilentFugitive) August 19, 2018
You have to admire the balls on this particular Bucko who incidentally is erstwhile Limerick manager Richie Bennis. Here Bennis casts aside the conventional thinking of hanging around in the background, and instead crossing the camera/interview space to great effect.
1. John Kiely Bucko
Now this particular gentleman takes the biscuit. Not happy with just one appearance on the telly, this bucko manages to steal the scene in three different shots of RTE's coverage.
First of all he wades into the background of John Kiely's interview, flattening down his hair for the viewers at home before grabbing at the camera man beside him, who we can only assume he knows from his previous escapades as a bucko.
The bucko then gets his close up in a subsequent shot, flashing a devilish smile to a watching audience:
And finally for the hat-trick, the number one bucko of the All-Ireland final gets more airtime, finagling a photo off of one of the Limerick players:
Here is his starring role in John Kiely's post match interview in full:
"We were always the bridesmaids - but today we got over the line" - John Kiely #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/O7n3DOgXbV
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 19, 2018
Outstanding work.
