NOEL McGRATH delivered a lengthy interview after Tipperary edged past Kilkenny that proved an absorbing watch for several reasons.
As usual nowadays, the 34-year-old was deployed off the bench for the home stretch as the Premier overcame Darragh McCarthy’s red card to overturn a late two-point deficit.
He still had enough gas in the tank to get involved at both ends of the pitch – including being in the thick of it as Robert Doyle made a crucial goal-line clearance in the dying moments as Kilkenny desperately chased a goal.
This provided a funny moment in the interview as he watched the replay of it back alongside RTE’s punditry trio of Liam Sheedy, Ursula Jacob and Jackie Tyrrell.
He was only just visible within the camera shot as Doyle blocked a shot that had flown past keeper Rhys Shelly. Yet McGrath quipped “Ah I would’ve got to it!”
Later on in the seven-minute chat the veteran half-forward let an accidental F-bomb slip whilst summing up how you can never get tired of winning big games at Croke Park.
He emphasized: “The feeling never gets old, it’s as good as ever. It’s hard to put into words at the moment because it’s just after happening.
“That initial feeling will never get old for anyone when you’re not playing, never mind when you are playing. It’s such a great feeling…
“Some of the performances there were like lads that had been up here loads and loads of times. Some have never even been in Croke Park, never mind played up here…
“We still have no trophy on the table, you know what I mean? We’re in an All-Ireland final. You have to just f***ing…sorry, sorry.
You have to go in and talk about it, enjoy that now inside and then get ready for a few weeks time.
“That’s some experience there today. Even coming in today and the crowds on the streets, that’s something new for a lot of lads.
“That experience will help and it will be even bigger in a few weeks time, there will be a sea of blue and gold and a sea of red everywhere.
“That’s why you play. We’re sitting at home for the last five or six years watching them days. To be involved in it now is exactly where we want to be.”
His overall ability to succinctly analyse how Liam Cahill’s men avoiding wilting after McCarthy’s second booking had appeared to hand the initiative to the Cats really jumped out to viewers.
Journalist/broadcaster Aisling O’Reilly tweeted: “A brilliant post-match interview by Noel McGrath, pure raw emotion. What a player.”
Similarly, Pat hailed: “As good a post-match interview as I have ever heard! What a great player and person Noel McGrath is!
“Cork are definitely NOT All-Ireland champions yet! Well done Tipp!”
