Offaly hurling legend Johnny Flaherty passes away

The Kinnitty man lit the touchpaper for Offaly hurling  in 1980 and again in the 1981 All-Ireland final against Galway

TASTY: Johnny Flaherty dances around Galway's Sylvie Linnane and Seamus Coen in the 1981 All-Ireland SHC final.

OFFALY legend Johnny Flaherty, the man who claimed the ground-breaking All-Ireland final goal that led to a first Faithful title, has passed away. The Kinnitty man hand-passed the decisive goal in the 1981 All-Ireland final against Galway to secure the county's first senior crown. He passed away early Wednesday after a reasonably short battle with illness, reported the Offaly Express. He was in his mid-70s.

Flaherty was, writes sports editor Kevin Corrigan, "a magnificently and audaciously skilful corner forward". He had returned from America late in his career but as Corrigan writes Wednesday "his contribution to Offaly's great emergence was profound."