Declan Browne: We’re so emotional, so proud of what Tipperary have done

The Tipperary football team celebrate at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

What we wouldn’t have done to be in Cork. I was in bits, to be honest, watching it at home, with the gang, the family. A Munster medal was always the dream. The longer we went without one, the more you felt it might never happen.

If we are being honest — and no disrespect is intended to Cork — once Kerry were out of the equation, we always felt there was a chance this weekend could be a landmark one. Those lads have played Cork all the way up. They’ve won and lost, never by much. I never saw us as huge underdogs and that’s how we played.

Because this is a good Tipp team, that’s the reality. Most of those players have experience of All-Ireland minor or U21 finals, of getting to Croke Park in 2016. If we could bring our game, a win here was on the table.

And the start was crucial. Had Cork enjoyed that start, things might have unravelled very differently. But Tipp’s strong start put real pressure on Cork and they didn’t seem to know how to react.

Their forwards didn’t want to shoot, which deepened my confidence. Just cut down the free count and Tipp had a right chance. Luke Connolly going off was a massive blow to Cork, because you couldn’t foul anywhere, the way he was kicking.

Michael Quinlivan has been quiet the last couple matches, but when he started pinging them over, you knew this could be Tipp’s day, if they kept their heads.

History could have weighed heavily. The Bloody Sunday commemorations made it an emotional weekend, but it’s their job to go out and play. And as Conor Sweeney said afterwards, that was his job and David Power’s to get them down to earth and ready for a Munster final.

He’s a class act, a great captain and leader. At the start of his career, he got criticism for not being consistent. But over the last four or five years, he has been immense and he makes it look so easy.

He’s calm, composed. The days of busting down doors are gone. He leads it calmly — the marvellous Brian Fox the same. And when you’re playing well on the field and doing what you expect others to do, everyone follows.

Of course, we were nervous down the straight. I was anyway. You’re always nervous with Tipp football. When Cork brought it back to three points there was dread. You’ll never get over that — it goes with the territory with the footballers.

But how important was Colin O’Riordan down that stretch? He was the talking point all week. But when he was available you had to start him. And I think he was the difference in the end. He caught a couple of great balls and kept going at Cork.

The great thing is this wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a last-minute goal, a smash and grab.

We don’t play in Munster finals too often. I’ve been following Tipp football since I was seven or eight. I was at the Munster final in ‘93 — well beaten, no chance. In ‘94 we could have won it. Delighted to play myself in ‘98 against Kerry. In 2002, we probably should have won it. Then we had to wait until 2016.

I’m a believer in fate at times. It’s a dream fulfilled for us all. But the dream is going further now, and they are entitled to dream bigger.

We’re all just so emotional, so proud of what they have done. Jealous too, in a way. We’d all love to have Munster medal in our pockets.

But knowing my gang and previous players, back to the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, we’re just all delighted to have played some part in this. All the managers and coaches and selectors and water carriers and kit men. All those on the Friends of Tipperary bus.

There’s a handful of supporters who have been there since day dot. We follow the team and we whinge and we give out and moan when we didn’t play well, but it’s a real close-knit community.

There are football folk in Tipp who have barely missed a championship game in their lives. This was for them all. And it’s just a pity they couldn’t be there, going wild in Cork.