'We carried your spirit with us' - All-Ireland champions Tipperary remember Dillon Quirke
The Premier county stormed to a 3-27 to 1-18 win over Cork after an astonishing second half at Croke Park this evening.
After captain Ronan Maher lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup, he paid tribute to his former team-mate Quirke, who passed away in August 2022.
'To one player who is no longer with us but is so much a part of what we are — Dillon Quirke,' said Maher to an emotional round of applause.
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'We carried your spirit with us every step of the way. You were in the dressing room, you were on the field of play, you were in our hearts, and we hope we did you and your family proud today.'
'To one player who is no longer with us but is so much a part of what we are,
- Dillon Quirke.'
Lovely tribute from @TipperaryGAA captain Ronan Maher.
'We carried your spirit with us every step of the way.' #Tipperary #AllIreland #hurling #AllIrelandHurlingFinal pic.twitter.com/JrLL54rCRA — Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) July 20, 2025
Tipperary manager Liam Cahill was in tears on the field watching on, while former boss Liam Sheedy paid tribute to Quirke and his family on RTÉ afterwards.
The Premier produced a sensational second-half surge to reign supreme for the first time since 2019, and inflict a second consecutive decider defeat on Cork.
They outscored the Rebels 3-14 to 0-2 in the second period, John McGrath grabbing two goals as he finished with 2-2. Darragh McCarthy scored the other from a penalty, the Toomevara youngster hitting 1-13 (0-8 frees).
'Jesus, it's hard to put it into words even now,' McGrath told RTÉ. 'It's a long way we've come in 12 months. We were long gone this time 12 months ago — it's more like 15 or 16 months.
'It's hard to put words, or describe, what exactly changed. It's not one single magic thing or anything. The talent and that was always there, it was just about fine tuning it. My God, we've gone from strength to strength as the year has gone on. Jesus, that second half was . . . oh my God.'
'Savage work was done, even into January, February, training was so intense, we just really went back to basics,' he continued.
'(We) built a real squad unity, a real belief as the year went on. Everyone was out on their feet there at the end but lads were still throwing everything in the way just to get over the line.'
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