Gearoid Hegarty eyes the bullseye after so many near misses

It has been a year of firsts for Gearoid Hegarty — a Limerick hurling debut, a first Munster championship win followed quickly by a provincial medal and now a first All-Ireland final appearance.

Hegarty is a familiar figure in the green and white, but always with the big ball in hand.

The St Patrick’s clubman captained the Limerick U21 footballers this spring, lining out at midfield for the county seniors — his second season with John Brudair’s squad.