Although it had not been a classic All Ireland final it had still excited powerful responses among many people, not least those who had a commitment to the teams involved. Among those was Jimmy Smyth, a Clare hurler of the '50s and '60s, widely recognised as one of the best of the bunch of his own or any other era. "I can now die comfortable," was his summation of his feelings. "What more could I want.
`Winning two years ago was special. Today confirmed that we will never again be regarded as `second rate'. We are now among the elite of hurling counties and we are going to stay there. The mould has been broken. Galway did it, Offaly did it and now Clare have done it. It feels very good for me," he added.
It was typical of Clare reaction. They had struggled to take a grip on the match and, even when they went in for the half-time break, still within striking distance and with wind advantage to come, they were far from confident. It seemed that they still retained doubts about themselves but, urged on vociferously by their dedicated supporters, they managed to shake off their lack of confidence only to be knocked back by two late Tipperary goals which were of the sort that the Clare full back line will have nightmares about for years to come. Maybe it was because of that that the quiet pride of the Clare supporters at the end was so impressive. When the hordes of supporters spilled onto the pitch at the end of a tense match there did not appear to be any triumphalism about it. Sheer joy pervaded what was happening and, even profoundly disappointed Tipperary supporters, were being reluctantly generous in defeat. They had every reason to be thus, considering that this was their second defeat by Clare in this year's mould-breaking championship. They took it philosophically and with good grace.
Generosity was not slow in coming from Clare either. Jimmy Smyth was no less euphoric than Minister for Sport, Jim McDaid TD. "It doesn't matter who wins or who loses. What we saw today was a clear expression of what Ireland is all about. We can put on a show like that and show the world that we are unique and that we are part of the wider world. Nobody who watched that today could possibly believe that it was anything but Irish. "The finish was marvellous. It was hanging both ways and the two Tipperary goals had everybody on the edge of their seats. It was one of the most exciting events that I have ever been at," he said.
The chairman of the Irish Sports Council was no less enthusiastic about what he had seen. John Treacy, who has been through some tense times himself as an international athlete and an Olympic silver medal winner in the most demanding of all all tests, the marathon, was equally breathless.
"I love these occasions. They mean a lot to all of us and we can be proud of the effort that everybody put in, particularly in view of the fact that this is an amateur game. We have every right to be proud of our games and the way they are presented," he said. Previous presidents of the GAA such as Paddy Fanning, Paddy Buggy, Paddy McFlynn and Jack Boothman were being equally expansive and proud of the events,which had brought a total of 65,575 paying customers to the ground and a viewing audience of several million on TV worldwide, not to mention radio listeners.
Jack Boothman, recently relieved of the heavy duties of the presidency of the GAA was prepared to be jocular about a suggested candidacy for the job in the Phoenix Park, while Albert Reynolds made a brief appearance without enlisting the help of the former Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, who looks younger by the year and who seems to enjoy the opportunity of being allowed to indulge himself in occasions such as these. The current president of Cummann Luthchleas Gael, Joe McDonagh, had his own disappointment to bear. His son, Eoin, was the captain of the Galway minor team beaten by Clare in the All-Ireland minor final after a riveting match.
"Of course I am disappointed that Galway didn't win but the health and the strength of the game in places like Clare and Galway are what really matters," he said. "We have the best game in the world and that is more important than winning or losing." "I will get really excited when Dublin are here on All Ireland day, hurling preferably," said John Stafford, the Mayor of Dublin, without a trace of irony. "This is really a national occasion and we all have reason to be proud, no matter where we come from," he said. The director general of the GAA was equally discreet. Asked about the financial bonanza which a draw might have brought to the GAA coffers he was, typically, non-committal.
"I never know what I feel about these situations. On the one hand I think of a huge amount of money for the GAA and then I think of the huge amount of work involved in organising a replay," he said. "In the long run, I think that the teams would prefer a decision but we have had several draws down the years and I am happy to leave it to the players. We are here to react to whatever happens on the field.
"Naturally the losing team would prefer a draw to being beaten. Sport is about winning and losing and the result today will be accepted by everybody and, as far as the GAA is concerned, we now switch our attention to the All Ireland football final," he said.
