Kyle Hayes deals with the late panic stations first, with a laconic flash of trademark Limerick understatement.
“We knew they were going to have a purple match at some stage, but the last 10 minutes wasn’t really ideal.
“I wouldn’t say panic. I’d always trust the fella next to you, or someone, to make something happen.
“Thankfully, we got to grips with it at the end. But for 10 minutes I thought Galway absolutely demolished us. It just shows what they can do.
“I always thought once we gained the lead, we always have that energy to finish games strong. I was banking on that to come in at some stage,” said Hayes.
“We’ve had it built into us all year, as soon as we’re dealt a blow, just to react straight away. Do something positive.” His hat-trick of points early in the second half – one which needed rubber-stamping by Hawkeye – punctuated an error-strewn portion of the game, and stretched the challengers’ lead out to seven.
“You have some of them days when the ball breaks to you. Lads were popping back the ball and I was just the right guy in the right position to pop them over. It was basically the lads’ hard work.” But perhaps it was his remarkable hook on Johnny Coen, just after half-time, that best encapsulated the ferocity Limerick brought to the middle third.
“We knew Galway, nearly every match, absolutely blitz teams. The intensity of their tackling, the half-forwards come back All we wanted to do was match that or better it. “We just tipped away on the scoreboard after that.”
If anybody started nervously it was the champions. Had John Kiely’s vow to protect the camp from the final hype reaped dividend? Hayes was certainly in full lockdown mode.
“I didn’t come into contact with anybody. John is a real good guy at that. Real good people skills and an absolutely superb manager. All the little things add up. All you do is concentrate, get two weeks, three weeks great training under your belt. We got that done.
“We knew coming into the game we were in a good position because training had gone so well.”
Hayes had an inkling much earlier in the year, when the first of the season’s boxes was ticked.
“The first time we played Galway above in Salthill, and gained promotion to Division 1, We were seven or eight points that day. To come back against All-Ireland champs above in their own home venue. Things like that, you know there is something special in the group.”
The hardest All-Ireland won? Tipp. Cork, Clare, Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Galway. A Grand National course.
“It’s definitely up there. All the so-called championship teams. That’s what this new format brings. Exciting matches. There wasn’t one match we played this year that was boring. Something massive happened every day.” Certainly one of the most emotional won. When sponsor JP McManus said his goodbyes around the team bus after and made his way to Croke Park lifts, he was barely able to press the buttons. “Just so drained,” he said.
Hayes had already been through the tearful phase.
John Kiely knew they wouldn’t be able to block everything out, everything this day meant. Hayes was even able to let some of it, “You notice the support when we ran out. It’s not just hurling, it’s rugby, football, whatever is going well in Limerick, there is always absolutely huge support.
“Even driving up in the bus, the streets were green all around us. The support we have is absolutely ridiculous. It was something special.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
