“It’s more than just this team, it’s teams that have gone by that maybe didn’t get over the line – this is for them.”
Offaly win their first title at this grade since 1995, beating Dublin 0-15 to 3-3, in a thrilling game to claim the Leinster title.
After an even first half, Offaly kept pulling into a lead only to be sucker punched not once, not twice, but three times, as a determined Dublin side kept finding the net.
They were not to be deterred however, with Jack Bryant, Aaron Kellaghan, Cormac Egan and Morgan Tynan all clipping over excellent scores.
When the final whistle went, the outpour of emotion from players and fans alike, shows how much this means to the Offaly faithful.
It’s difficult to put these sort of emotions into words, but Cormac Egan stepped up to the mic, rocking a mullet with a cheeky grin, and managed to articulate perfectly, what this means to his county.
“It’s been a long time coming in Offaly. We had the minors in the Leinster final only a few weeks ago, we lost, we were so close, a point away.
“It's been a long time coming for Offaly” 👌👊
Is é Cormac Egan @Offaly Laoch na hImeartha inniu! Comhghairdeas leat 👏👏👏 @EirGrid @GAA_BEO @gaaleinster #GAA #GAABEO @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/2Z9LnQYgUh
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 22, 2021
“To come here today, we only joined the panel only two weeks ago, before the Wexford game, so to come here today and put on that performance with the boys, they’re really a credit.
“Each and every one of them is a credit to their family and this game.
“It was what Offaly football is about, what it was built on in the ’70s, the ’80s, all the way up.
“Boys with grandads and even older would have played in them great Offaly teams, we thought we would have to reinstall that back into this team.
“Dec and all the boys in the background team, they really put that into us, and that’s as much them as it us, they have built that into us from the very start.
“From underage, Ken Furlong, with the minors, Tony Dalts, Ginger Stuart, and all these boys coming up and along.
“This is what it is here for today, it’s more than just this team, it’s teams that have gone by that maybe didn’t get over the line – this is for them.
The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10
