The stars of Offaly's U20 side give their perspective on a magical day in Kilkenny.
Offaly are Under 20 All Ireland Hurling Champions after beating Tipperary in Nowlan Park on a sun-kissed Saturday in Kilkenny.
That win puts the Faithful County in the esteemed company of Galway and Cork in completing the GAA grand slam of winning All Ireland titles at every grade in both football and hurling.
Tipperary were the county to inflict heartbreak on Offaly two years ago at the very same venue in an All Ireland minor final.
The following year, Leo O'Connor led many of the same players to a Leinster under 20 title, before being bested by a mature Cork panel in the All Ireland decider.
2024 has proven to be their year.
O'Connor tells Midlands 103's Joe Troy that the Faithful fans carried them from Nowlan Park 2022 to Saturday evening in Kilkenny:
The final score in Nowlan Park was Offaly 2-20 Tipperary 1-14.
Adam Screeney has marked out as the man to stop when it comes to taking on Offaly.
The Kilcormac-Killoughey man landed 12 points, eight of which were frees, three 65s, and a well taken score from play from out wide.
He talks to Troy about the pain of previous defeats:
Brecon Kavanagh has been an integral part of the panel's defensive effort, he says the trust within the group is special:
Lusmagh's Ruairi Kelly hit the game's final point, he tells David Hollywood beating Tipperary at this level is a special achievement:
𝙏𝙪𝙣𝙚 ②⓪②④
— Official Offaly GAA (@Offaly_GAA) June 2, 2024
Ruaile Buaile with another cracker 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EhfrDZdGmL
Between the thousands of fans and the tunes from Ruaile Buaile and Jigjam, the county's newest All Ireland champions were given a resounding welcome home on Sunday.
Midlands 103's Liam White spoke to the players as they were swamped for autographs.
Liam Hoare:
Caelum Larkin:
Barry Egan:
Wins against Dublin and Kilkenny set Offaly up for All Ireland success, according to half-back Donal Shirley.
The Tubber man has been a mainstay for Leo O'Connor through the campaign and says a one point victory over the Dubs in the opening round gave them the belief that they could shoulder the expectation that came with being Leinster champions from last year.
Offaly then overcame an historic hurdle with another one point win.
This time the opposition was Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-finals in Tullamore.
He says belief developed through the campaign:
Captain Dan Bourke, Screeney, and Shirley joined David Hollywood in studio after the dust had settled on a famous victory:
Joe Troy and Offaly's Senior All Ireland Championship winning keeper of 1998 Stephen Byrne called the shots on Midlands 103 on Saturday.
Listen to their commentary in full here:
First Half:
Second Half:
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