Wexford are a county that have lived a largely tortured existence over the past decade-and-a-half, but all of that will have been forgotten today.
It was a humdinger of a Leinster final, one that was in the balance right until the end. Both sides went tit for tat throughout, but the vital moment arrived in the 64th minute.
Rory O'Connor was brought down in the box and Wexford would have a penalty. When Mark Fanning converted it, the Wexford crowd started to believe it might just be their day.
They would hold firm when the Kilkenny onslaught inevitably came, winning their first provincial title since 2004. You could see what it meant to them, and to the man that made it all possible.
Full time: Wexford 1-23 0-23 Kilkenny. Davy Fitzgerald's men hold on to claim their first Leinster Hurling title in 15 years. Watch live on @RTE2 now, highlights on The Sunday Game tonight at 9.30pm #rtegaa #WEXKIK pic.twitter.com/Qm3v8DJrz2
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 30, 2019
Wexford - Leinster hurling champions 2019 #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/dFV3YzG0Wh
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 30, 2019
Davy Fitzgerald made history with this win, becoming the first manager to win Munster, Leinster, League and All-Ireland titles.
Davy Fitzgerald becomes the first manager in hurling history to complete the clean sweep of Leinster, Munster, League and All-Ireland titles. #GAA
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) June 30, 2019
He instilled the belief in the Wexford squad that days such as this one were possible when others doubted them, even when they doubted themselves.
Speaking after the game, man-of-the-match Rory O'Connor described the impact the Clare native has had on this team.
'Davy believed in us fully, and it was probably in the dressing room that we didn't back ourselves' - man of the match Rory O'Connor speaks to RTÉ Sport's @damien_omeara #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/N8SwyFhzBM
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 30, 2019
At the start of this year, there was a lot of people asking questions about us. They were saying we were at a crossroads with Davy.
Davy put it on us this year that he believed in us fully, and it was probably in the dressing room that we didn't back ourselves.
We said up in Salthill after we drew with Galway that we thought we could have beaten them, so we decided to get a bit of belief in ourselves and look where it has gotten us now.
We have a feeling the celebrations will rage on for quite a while yet.
