Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy was gushing in emotion in the immediate wake of his side’s All-Ireland SHC triumph on Sunday.
The Premier County defeated Brian Cody’s Kilkenny by 4-17 to 1-18 in a thrilling Liam McCarthy decider at Croke Park, the Munster men’s victory coming just a year after they lost late on to the same opposition in the same fixture.
Sheedy paid tribute to his panel for bouncing back from that defeat to go all the way this year, despite losing their Munster opener to Cork by ten points and being taken all the way by Galway in a gripping All-Ireland quarter-final.
The campaign also saw qualifier wins over Wexford and Offaly and an All-Ireland semi-final success over Waterford, the campaign culminating in Sunday’s win, one that saw Lar Corbett bag a hat-trick of goals and Noel McGrath also raise a green flag.
However, the whole team starred and it was the whole team and panel that Sheedy was hailing afterwards.
“I’m just so proud of this bunch and all they have given me for the past three years in terms of the effort, the commitment and the honesty,” the Portroe man told RTE Sport after his side condemned Kilkenny’s dream of five successive All-Irelands to the ‘what might have been’ collection.
“We were gutted here last year, but we said we would be back – and maybe somewhere along the journey people doubted us.
“I never doubted this group, and thankfully today they got their just reward.”