When Dillon Quirke’s dad Dan was Tipp’s underage hero against Offaly

Dan Quirke scored a hat-trick of goals with Tipperary met Offaly in the 1989 U21 All-Ireland final

Dan Quirke scoring one of his goals for Tipperary against Offaly in the 1989 All-Ireland U21 final.

When was the last time an underage All-Ireland hurling final between Offaly and Tipperary played in front of a crowd less than 20,000?

The answer is never.

Saturday’s U20 final in UPMC Nowlan Park may only be the fourth time the counties have met at such a stage but, of the expected 26,000 crowd, many would have been among the 20,214 who took in what these players offered in the minor final at the same venue two years ago.

The neighbours’ previous minor final in 1987 preceded the Galway-Kilkenny senior decider, attended by 65,586 in Croke Park. Two years later, and a then record 35,000 attendance for an U21 final watched Tipperary edge Offaly in Portlaoise.

High on the county capturing their first Liam MacCarthy Cup in 18 years the week before, Tipperary’s following in O’Moore Park had more to cheer as Dan Quirke’s first half hat-trick helped them see off an Offaly side featuring several who would grace their great senior side.

Full-forward Quirke’s hat-trick mostly involved poaching.

The first: A rasping finish having caught a delivery from future two-time All-Ireland SHC winning manager Liam Sheedy.

The second:A ball from the wing that escaped everyone, including Offaly goalkeeper John Troy.

The third: The quickest reaction to a Conor Stakelum effort that came off the upright.

It was a dream tally and the cherry on the cake following the seniors’ win over Antrim.

“The match was delayed by 25 minutes,” Quirke recalls.

“We had been out doing the warm-up, had gone back into the dressing room, and were ready to go, when we were told the match was delayed.

“I have spoken to people who, in the mean-time, turned around and went home because they didn’t think they would get there on time.

“The place was thronged. It was madness, but it was a great occasion. The crowds were in on top of us, a metre or two from the field.”

The likes of Sheedy, Conal Bonnar, Michael Ryan, and John Leahy had been on the Tipp minor team that lost to Offaly in ’87.

For them, the two-point win was sweet revenge — but Tipperary were hanging on by the end.

“Offaly would have been favourites,” Quirke says, “but we had a great camaraderie and were on the bandwagon of the seniors.

“I think we scored about 3-8 in 10 or 12 minutes from being seven or eight points down, having really struggled for the first 15 minutes.

“I think we stunned Offaly. They had a cracking team at the time — Brian Whelahan, Daithí Regan, Michael Duignan, the Pilkingtons, the Dooleys. A tremendous team.

“They did come back and we were lucky to win it, but the burst of scores from our lads made the difference.”

For Quirke to win alongside his Clonoulty-Rossmore club-mate Declan Ryan was special. Ryan was team captain and fresh from the seniors’ success.

At the time, the pair were dating their future wives, twin sisters Hazel and Olive Fryday.

“There was none better to lead us than Declan. He took the game by the scruff of the neck and, when he called, we just all got in behind him.

“John Leahy, Conal Bonnar, and John Madden were coming from the seniors too and they brought great calm on the day, great experience.

“Declan being captain, everyone wanted to do it for Declan.”

Dan Quirke with his late son Dillon

Quirke is currently overseeing the work of The Dillon Quirke Foundation, the cardiac screening charity his family launched in the name of his and Hazel’s son and Tipperary defender Dillon, who passed away playing for Clonoulty-Rossmore in August 2022.

From next month until August, 8,000 teenagers will be screened.

“We never thought we would get to that figure. But the way it is going now, we will have 12 or 13,000 before the end of the year.

“We have a waiting list of 250 sports clubs — basketball, rugby, soccer, dancing clubs. Securing continued support is crucial.”

Nearly 30 years on from his father’s achievement, Dillon claimed an U21 All-Ireland medal in 2018, the last before the grade dropped to U20. Quirke smiles at the similarities between their teams who both overcame Cork eventually.

“Funny enough, that team of ours drew with Cork in Cork in the first round of Munster that year and we stopped off on the way home. We gave a couple of hours in a place called The Blue Dragon, had the few pints and the team gelled incredibly well. We never looked back from there and we won the replay in Thurles.

Dillon Quirke with the Tipp U20s in 2018 Photo: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

“It’s funny, when Dillon played U21 in 2018 they had been absolutely hammered by Cork in the Munster final. Dillon organised a couple of mobiles for the team to go to the following weekend in Killarney and I think 24 or 25 of them went and they came back to win an All-Ireland against Cork. You don’t hear of those things much nowadays but they worked for Dillon’s group and ours.”