'The players are now immortal': Thousands turn out to welcome home victorious Clare hurlers
Kelly Brian Front Lift And Cup Fans Maccarthy Tony Liam Tom In Picture: Lohan Manager Homeing For Of Team's Cheering Gathered Maher/inpho The The Clare Captain
An estimated 25,000 Clare fans greeted their hurling heroes at Ennis’ Fairgreen just before 9pm on Monday evening, as the Liam MacCarthy Cup returned to Clare for only the fifth time.
Fans rushed to the road as they saw the All-Ireland winners arrive in an open top bus, and the Fairgreen event in Ennis was the hurlers' third stop since entering the county in the late afternoon.
Earlier, the Wolfe Tones Na Sionna grounds was the first stop of many around Clare to see the Liam MacCarthy Cup and the All-Ireland winning Clare hurlers.
Just before 6pm, thousands of Clare fans squeezed into the carpark of the Shannon club to give Clare’s returning heroes a rapturous welcome.
As the three Wolfe Tones club men — Aron Shanagher, Rory Hayes, and Darragh Lohan — led their team-mates onto the makeshift stage holding aloft the Liam MacCarthy Cup, the DJ queued up the fan anthem you can’t escape at any major sporting occasion, Gala’s 'Freed from Desire', and the carpark was bouncing.
The biggest cheer was reserved for long-time Wolfe Tones club man and Clare’s All-Ireland winning manager Brian Lohan, who held up the Liam MacCarthy Cup and told the crowd: “We are glad to have our first stop here. We went up to Dublin yesterday morning to collect that cup."
A sign at the back of the truck trailer and makeshift stage read: "Welcome to the Home of the Lohan."
Lohan won two All-Ireland’s as a player in 1995 and 1995, and Wolfe Tones under age coach Kieran McCarthy said that scenes like the stunning win on Sunday and Monday's unforgettable homecoming will inspire a future generation of hurlers.
At this event with his own children, McCarthy said: "I’m with my kids this evening, but I remember being a bit older than they are now down cheering Brian Lohan and Frank Lohan in the Wolfe Tones carpark in the 1990s.
“Of course, we don’t know it yet but there are three or four future All Stars in this crowd inspired by these players and these moments are what will drive them on.
“The players now are immortal — when you win an All-Ireland, that’s it. You are Messi. You are Ronaldo. If Tony Kelly and Messi walk into a room in Clare today, it is Tony Kelly who is getting the applause.”
In his own words to the crowd, captain Tony Kelly said: “For every boy and girl in Wolfe Tones, ye have something to aspire to with the three boys, Rory, Shan, and Darragh.
He said: “The boys won’t be around forever, and they need boys and girls hurling, so hopefully this will inspire the next generation."
Time for a quick drink for the players and photos with fans in the club bar, and then onto Clarecastle — where the celebrations continued until later in the night.
More than 1m people tuned into Clare's thrilling extra-time win. An average of 1,037,000 tuned into live on RTÉ2, with another 9,000 watching on RTÉ2+1.
The RTÉ2 audience represented a share of 77% of those watching TV at that time. The television coverage peaked at 1,231,000 as the game reached its climax.
Last year's decider between Limerick and Kilkenny averaged 830,000 on RTÉ2, which was the highest audience for an All-Ireland hurling final since 2019.