Tony Kelly was the hero as Clare defeated Cork to win a sensational All-Ireland senior hurling final after extra-time.
The Clare captain led his team by example, scoring a tremendous goal and four points as Clare came out on top to win their first All-Ireland title in eleven years.
Kelly was playing that day eleven years ago, winning Young Hurler and Hurler of the Year as a nineteen year-old but Clare have had some tough losses and near misses in the intervening years.
He left all of those in the rear-view mirror with the performance of a lifetime on Sunday.
Afterwards, he was in dreamland scaling the steps of the Hogan Stand to become his county's fourth All-Ireland winning captain after Anthony Daly, Amby Power and Pat Donnellan.
"This Clare team has been maligned for 3 or 4 years for being nearly there and for knocking on the door, well today we kicked that door down," he began.
'In Clare, hurling is like a religion and Brian Lohan is like our God' Tony Kelly and the Clare support salute Brian Lohan, who now has an All-Ireland victory as a manager to go with the two he won as a player 📺 Watch live @RTE2 & @RTEplayer https://t.co/AKAre5FHdN pic.twitter.com/BfTGOKq7Zf
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 21, 2024
Kelly then went onto pay an emotional tribute to the team manager Brian Lohan.
"In Clare, hurling is like a religion and Brian Lohan is like our God," he said.
Lohan was still standing on the pitch at this stage, soaking the moment in on his own.
Kelly paused his speech as the Clare crowd cheered on their legendary manager, making for a spine-tingling moment on Jones' Road. Lohan gave a nod and a wink as the supporters serenaded him.
"I can't speak highly enough of Brian Lohan and all players feel the same. A tough exterior, but he'd do anything for you inside our camp," added Kelly.
"He's a legend of the game from his playing days and now he's added another string to his bow as our manager."
RTÉ's Damian Lawlor caught up with Kelly after the game with the 30-year-old explaining that he fought back from injury with the aim of having 'a day like today.'
His goal will go down in Clare folklore but he typically played it down, stating that it was merely a case of 'playing the situation in front of him.'
"It probably looks better...you just play on the situation in front of you, I was probably going to tap it over the bar only a Cork defender came and I had to improvise and luckily enough it went in."
Tony Kelly is in dreamland as he discusses Clare's epic win over Cork #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/1Gzk6Bs2yP
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 21, 2024
