Bright sunshine on Monday belied the feelings of the Kilkenny senior hurling team, officials and fans at losing to four-times-in-a-row winners Limerick in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park the day before.
The official celebration for the work that Kilkenny put in all year to reach the showpiece event started at UPMC Nowlan Park with music from Sean Carroll, Burnchurch, and The Kilkennys.
Sunday’s match against defending champions Limerick was replayed on big screens for fans to watch as they waited for Derek Lyng’s men to arrive following the end of the manager’s first championship at the helm.
The campaign ended painfully for Kilkenny as they failed in their attempt to claim the Liam McCarthy Cup for a 37th time. Their nine-point defeat by Limerick means their wait to get their hands back on the trophy they crave will run into a ninth year.
To add to Kilkenny’s woes, their team coach broke down on the 90-minute journey home. They had to hitch a lift on the coach carrying the players’ partners, girlfriends and wives.
Eventually, the team took an open-top bus from Kilkenny Castle and slowly wound their way through the city to Nowlan Park, cheered on by throngs of fans who came out to mark their achievement.
The players took to a stage erected in the ground as fans filled three quarters of the 27,000-capacity stadium.
First to be introduced on the stage was captain Eoin Cody, who scored a goal in the final, followed shortly after by Paddy Deegan and TJ Reid, who received some of the loudest cheers from supporters young and old.
“I would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of the players, back-room team, management team and to all of those who turned out here this evening. It’s a fantastic reception. We are very grateful, so thank you,” an emotional Lyng told the crowd.
“We’re obviously, as players and the back-room team, all extremely disappointed not to bring Liam McCarthy back and build on the fantastic wins we had in the Leinster Final and the All-Ireland semi-final.
“As manager I would just like to say a huge thanks to all the players involved, their efforts all year, the extended team, the back-room team, management team and everyone involved who was part of this brilliant journey.
“We stand here today as proud Kilkenny hurlers and you stand here as proud Kilkenny supporters. We promise we will be doing everything we can to drive this on next year.”
The Rose of Mooncoin rang out around the stadium, performed by Irish international soprano Sinéad Blanchfield, before the crowd left to ponder another year of waiting for a return of old glories.
