Emotional Thurles CBS manager pays tribute to former student Dillon Quirke after Harty Cup success

Thurles CBS manager Niall Cahill, with tears flowing down his face, paid an emotional tribute to former student Dillon Quirke. Pic: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

Thurles CBS manager Niall Cahill, with tears flowing down his face, paid an emotional tribute to former student Dillon Quirke.

Cahill had just witnessed his team bridge a 10-year gap to claim a ninth Dr Harty Cup title after edging past St Flannan’s College, Ennis 1-13 to 0-13 in Mallow.

“We won here in 2015, Ronan Teehan was the captain. Dillon Quirke was corner-back the same day. There is a whole load of the lads sitting in Sydney at the moment in a pub having a barbeque celebrating, they couldn’t get home, they’re working. There’s lads all around the world.

“But Dillon couldn’t be there,” he said.

“I didn’t want to say anything to any of the boys all week, I put on his jersey from 2015 underneath my own today. I wanted him here. He helped us. He was something else.

"He is such a loss to Clonoulty, the school, everything. I didn’t want to burden the boys with anything about emotion. We had a picture inside in the dressing-room of Dillon. We don’t kind of allude to it or mention it but the boys know who he is.

“It’s for us and the staff and the people involved. Evelyn Heffernan works with us and two of her boys Enda and Ronan were playing in 2015, best of friends with Dillon.

"I said it to her during the week and the two of us got emotional thinking of going back to Mallow with the same amount of lads (53). The match wasn’t even meant to be here in 2015, it was meant to be in Kilmallock.

“You just knew coming down there was something bigger happening. Just delighted to think of Dillon and to remember him on the day because he lived for Harty and just loved that medal so much.

“Delighted these boys have their memories now as well.”

Another touching moment arrived before any sliotar was hit.

“We were telling you last week how we went up to Belfast, a lovely school up there. Pulled in here earlier on and who was there but one of the teachers from Belfast. He drove from Tyrone this morning, left at six o’clock to get down.

"Paddy Linden is his name. He told us if we got to the final he’d be here for us.”

It’s often said that to be goalkeeper you have to be from a special mould. So special mention goes to Harry Loughnane.

“Some hero,” Cahill said. “He played with a broken finger, he got it from the match last week (De La Salle College). Credit to the man. People said did he mess up the last day? He didn’t.

"He was under pressure with a broken finger. He is a credit, the way he played there today. He won us the final. He is so tough mentally to be able to focus on getting the ball out to the boys. His puck-outs were on the money.

"But to do that after being out for 10 days and not being able to pick up a hurley. And he’s in agony there now. He is one of a kind. He was sub goalie on the Tipp U20s who got to the All-Ireland last year.

“There are many of them on the team like that. By God, these lads are unbelievable. The older lads on the team worked all the way through with Eamonn Buckley, Paddy McCormack and Paul Downey. We only inherited them.

"We were very lucky to get a team that was looked after so well. Some of the guys today suffered fierce hardship. The margins are so tight.”