Noel McGrath is a man who never stood away from any challenge on the field, so it was never in question what he would do when faced with a cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
The Tipperary hurler underwent treatment earlier in 2015 for testicular cancer, and returned to action for the Tipperary senior team in their narrow loss to Galway in the All-Ireland hurling semi -inal in August.
It almost concluded with a fairyale finish too, as McGrath grabbed a point late in the game, before Galway surged clear to set up a date with Kilkenny in September.
However, one of the most iconic images came afterwards when Galway boss Anthony Cunningham was spotted talking to the Loughmore native and beating his chest
And last night on Second Captains on RTE, the Tipperary forward thanked the Galway boss for his kind words,
“I’m not fully sure exactly what he said, I was gutted after the defeat but in fairness to him he just came over and shook my hand and wished me well.”
“I’m not sure of the exact words he said but it was a nice to thing to do, he didn’t have to do it, and it just shows the camaraderie that’s there in sport and in hurling.”
McGrath’s apperance was hailed by many last night, who were delighted to see the Loughmore-Castleiney man back to full health and speaking so openly about his cancer battle
https://twitter.com/Mike_Quirke/status/659501082951999488
@SecondCaptains
Noel McGrath-legend! pic.twitter.com/bTPvb7xOCu— Yellowbelly.ie 🟨🟪 (@yellowbelly_ie) October 28, 2015
@GrathNoel Good job tonight, inspiring story for others in a similar situation. Well done! 😊 #hero
— Aisling Daly (@aisydaly) October 29, 2015
The honesty of @GrathNoel is compelling. Fair play to him. Not an easy interview to do. #secondcaptains
— Jacqui Hurley (@jacquihurley) October 28, 2015
