VISIT TO QUIRKES MADE WEEKEND MORE POIGNANT

A VISIT to the Quirke household on Friday evening set the tone ahead of a glorious weekend for Conor Stakelum and Tipperary.

- BY PAT NOLAN

Stakelum is one of a number of Tipperary players for whom gazumping Cork in an All-Ireland final is not a new experience.

In 2018, they lost a Munster Under-21 final to the Rebels by 13 points but turned it around in the All-Ireland final, winning by three.

Stakelum played a starring role, scoring the match-winning goal late on after coming off the bench.

Six Cork players from that game featured in Sunday's final and four from Tipp - though it'd surely have been five but for Dillon Quirke’s tragic passing in 2022.

“A couple of us, we were out with Dan and Hazel Quirke during the week,” said Stakelum from the team’s base in the Grand Hotel in Malahide yesterday.