THERE CAN’T BE many 19-year olds in the country feeling better than Shane O’Donnell this evening.
The Éire Óg clubman was only brought into the Clare team this morning, at the expense of Darach Honan, but he repaid Davy Fitzgerald and the Clare selectors with a hat-trick inside the opening twenty minutes.
“Absolutely amazing,” said O’Donnell when he was asked by RTE after the game how it felt to win an All-Ireland hurling title.
“It’s the first time I’ve made the panel and I get to an All-Ireland final.
“I don’t even know the hard work the lads have put in every year and they get nowhere and this is to them, the backroom staff, to everyone.”
When asked about his goals though, O’Donnell was quick to spread the praise.
“I’m the man who gets on the end of the goals but it’s a team effort to get goals.
“The first two were handed on a plate to me and the first 20 minutes I was in dreamland, you’d wake up and go ‘that’d never happen’.
“I couldn’t believe it out there, I couldn’t believe it.”
The full-forward also had kind words for the performance of today’s losing finalists:
“Testement to cork, they were brilliant they never gave up the ghost and even our goals didn’t phase them, they just came back but I’m glad we came out the right side of it.”
Not bad for a young fella!! But a great and more important point in the second half to steady things, and a very commendable interview after, he’ll be worn out with young ones!!
His interview was brilliant. So nice to see such a young lad speaking so calmly and thanking the interviewer after. Credit to all.
Well done lad. You just lived the dream.