“It was a touch of real class.”
Cork hurler Sean Kingston provides the family of Dillon Quirke a lovely gesture that shows the true measure of Cork hurling, and the respect that young Quirke had from the GAA community.
The 24-year-old Tipperary star tragically passed away after falling ill during a championship game for his home club Clonoulty-Rossmore.
Beforehand, no one was aware of any underlying problems or issues, and being a county star at the peak of his powers, and in prime fitness, only adds to the tragedy of him being taken far too soon.
The last time he played against Cork while representing Tipp, he was marking Kingston, and they had a brilliant battle.
Afterwards, their respect was clear to see and they even swapped jerseys with each other following the final whistle.
Enda Treacy, sports journalist with the Tipperary Star, attended the funeral and revealed details of Kingston’s classy gesture in his column this week:
“There have been so many touching stories of people who have reached out to the Quirke family to give them comfort since Dillon’s passing, but one that really has stuck with me is the gesture from Cork hurler Shane Kingston, who travelled up to Clonoulty to give the Quirke family back Dillon’s jersey from his final Tipperary game against Cork back in May.”
“The two men had marked each other in the game and traded jerseys at the final whistle, and it was a touch of real class from Kingston to travel all that way to pay his respects, and it really showed the quality of the Cork hurling family.”
