Gearóid Hegarty: 'Liam MacCarthy Cup the cherry on top of what will be a special wedding day'

“And I didn't want it for me, I wanted it for my family. My uncle Joe and I are very close, my father's brother. He's a diehard Limerick fan. He just eats and drinks hurling constantly. All he wants to do is talk hurling. But he wouldn't annoy me either about it. He just wishes me the best of luck.

“And I'm so happy for him and, on my mother's side, my uncle Enda and things like that. They just love hurling and I'm so happy that these lads who will go down as the greatest hurlers of all time are coming over, they'll be there and my family will be able to interact with these people. And I know that they will appreciate that so much.

“Look, if we didn't win the All-Ireland, would it have changed that feeling? It wouldn't have. But it's the cherry on top of the cake that makes it that extra bit special.” 

Hegarty’s brother Diarmuid will be his best man in The Algarve. His groomsmen are Seán Finn and David Reidy. Along with Niamh, the pair and their fiancées Karen and Aoife, Hegarty enjoyed a few quiet moments on Sunday night before the celebrations truly kicked off. 

“We sat down on the bed for about 20 minutes, half an hour, listening to a couple of songs. It sunk in then. Beautiful, beautiful moments.”

Hegarty’s wedding starts a series of team nuptials over the coming months. “Nearly all my best friends are inside in that dressing room. The two boys are groomsmen for me and easily could have been several of the other boys as well.

“William (O’Donoghue) is getting married in September. Dave Reidy is getting married in December. Tom Morrissey is getting married in October, November. And (it’s) guaranteed that bridal parties will be involved with the lads.” 

After that, Hegarty is already looking forward to returning to training for 2027. 

“I was actually only chatting about it going up on the bus, or on the train, I can't believe that we don't have training this week. It's been such a quick year.

“Sometimes you get to the end of the year and you are really looking forward to the year being over. This year, whatever way it was, and it's a brilliant feeling, I can't believe the year's over already.

“We do this little thing before the game when they're showing us a few clips - it was game 14 out of 14 (on Sunday), all the way from the league. And I couldn't believe that it was showing game 14 out of 14. In a way, if you tried to, you'd make me believe that the Munster championship hadn't even started yet.”

Hegarty will be a hurler of the year candidate, although he rues not scoring on Sunday, especially the two goal chances that came his way. “Scoring a goal on All-Ireland final day is one of the greatest feelings I've ever experienced in my whole life, and I wanted it so bad. But all you do want when it boils down to it, is to get on that bus and have the Liam MacCarthy at the front of that bus.” 

Still, there is sweet satisfaction for Limerick in performing so impressively in the cathedral. “The one way I might be able to describe it is Croke Park, it's a magical place. And if you can't hurl in Croke Park, in my opinion, you can't hurl.

“Our game, the way we play the game, it's designed for space. It's designed for a place like Croke Park, so it suits us down to the ground when we do get to.” 

Beforehand, Hegarty had a flick through the match programme and saw Limerick had won 12 All-Irelands. Of the 13 now, he has been involved in six. “So, if we were to get one more that would be 50% of all the All-Irelands that Limerick have won.

“It's amazing that we only have 13 now. It's amazing that we do have only 13 and you look at the roll of honour. I didn't actually even look above our name but for a county that's so fanatical about hurling and you see the support we've had over the last number of years and we've always had.

“I remember going to games as a young player when Limerick weren't successful and there were still massive crowds going. So that's what I'm just so happy for. I'm just so happy for the people of Limerick.”