Eoghan O'Gara may have seven All-Ireland senior football medals to his name - but he says that his first ever victory in the Wexford SFC ranks "right up there" with the highlights of his career.
O'Gara scored 0-03 across three All-Ireland final appearances during Dublin's run of success in the 2010s, before retiring from intercounty football in the aftermath of the Dubs' five-in-a-row being secured in 2019.
Since retirement from the intercounty game, the forward has also seen a change at club level.
Previously with Templeogue/Synge Street in Dublin, O'Gara has since moved to Shelmaliers, the home club of his wife Elaine, joining the Wexford side ahead of the 2022 county championship.
After heartbreak in last year's county final, Shelmaliers finally got over the line on Sunday, and O'Gara praised his teammates for a battling victory at Wexford Park.
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"I think age is creeping up on me" - Eoghan O'Gara plays bench role in Shelmaliers' Wexford final win
Shelmaliers lost the 2022 Wexford Final by four points to Casteltown, and faced the same opposition in this year's decider.
The task at hand was not made any easier when Aidan O'Brien was sent off early in the first-half, but a 14-man Shelmaliers managed to see out a dramatic one-point victory, with the winning score coming from Paul Hearne deep into injury-time.
All-Ireland winner Eoghan O'Gara appeared for Shelmaliers off the bench in the closing stages, and spoke to Wexford GAA about what the victory meant to him at full-time.
Interview - Eoghan O'Gara
Dominic Smith Electrical Senior Football Championship Final 2023
Castletown vs Shelmaliers pic.twitter.com/GQlUHi319K— Wexford GAA (@OfficialWexGAA) October 15, 2023
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O'Gara, 38, said that he was physically exhausted by his brief cameo off the bench, and that the intense scheduling of the Wexford championship had taken its toll on his body.
He would, however, go on to say that the victory over Castletown was made all the sweeter by last year's heartbreak and the road back, and praised his teammates for delivering a victory which he said ranked alongside any of his Sam Maguire successes:
Tired! I think age is creeping up on me...five, ten minutes there and I feel like I've played two matches. The week-on-week matches are tough going. But thoroughly enjoyed it.
I did my bit, it was a team performance last week to pull it out of the fire and again today. I don't think it's down to any individuals - particularly today's performance. Down a man, and somehow found the resources and the character there to pull the game out of the fire.
It's testament to the lads here. I've really enjoyed playing with them the last couple of seasons. [We] should really be dominating Wexford football again the next two or three seasons as well.
The hurt that was there [after 2022], nobody likes losing, especially finals. There was a natural bit of hurt there, even subconsciously. The fact that it was the same opposition again today, I think that lit a fire for the lads preparing for the match this week.
We spoke about doing whatever it took to get the win today, I think we certainly did that.
A win is a win, it's right up there.
Featured image: Wexford GAA/Sportsfile
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