'I would have been dead long ago only for you': Gearóid Hegarty humbled by feedback from Limerick legend
HALO EFFECT: Gearóid Hegarty at the Limerick press event. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
It would be trite to say Ger Hegarty is living vicariously through his son Gearóid.
Ger lived, breathed, shed blood and broke bone for Limerick. He mightn’t have won an All-Ireland but in an era of knock-out he played in one final and was injured for another.
“He always told me that he'd train on New Year's Day every single year because in his eyes there was no All-Ireland champions on January 1 because it was the start of a new year,” says Gearóid.
“And even I'd be very close to some of my uncles, his brothers, Joe for example, I'd be very, very close. The stories he'd be telling me about my father. They'd all be drinking pints in the pub in November, December time, Christmas time and they'd be slating him in the pub.
“He'd be down in the field in Old Christians running in the worst of weather and they'd be calling him a lunatic. They couldn't understand it but that's just the way he was built and thankfully he instilled the importance of hard work in me.”
Ger passed it on in the amount of time he spent with Gearóid. Whether it was in Ballyneety Golf Club or St Patrick’s GAA club, son would accompany father. “He just brought me everywhere with him, and it's only now when I'm thinking back how grateful I am for that.”
Competitive he has always been, but Ger was never the pushy parent. Although, when that All-Ireland came in 2018, he was overjoyed. “I remember the banquet in 2018. He was floating that evening. He was in a different headspace to me that night. He was in a much more celebratory mood even than I was, which surprised me. He was so happy for us we got to experience it.”
If anything, it’s Gearóid who has been experiencing the satisfaction of Limerick’s successes through his dad. He recalls another evening at home later that year with Seán Finn, David Reidy and their girlfriends when Ger arrived.
“The boys got up to meet him and he said 'One more now, boys. One more and that would do us.' Obviously, we were beaten in 2019 but we came back and won in 2020. 'One more now boys, one more.' So, he's still looking for one more.”
There are few better All-Ireland final hurlers than Gearóid Hegarty. Two man-of-the-match awards establish that.
There are few worse All-Ireland semi-final hurlers than Gearóid Hegarty. Four tactical substitutions and another replacement in 2023 underline that.
After a scoreless first half against Clare last Sunday week, which John Kiely described as one the player would have been “disappointed” with, Hegarty feared the hook once more. A hook of another kind was administered to him at the break after a clash with Tony Kelly.
“I remember coming off and they wanted me to go into the dressing room to get stitched up. I went back out and I came on maybe for 60 seconds. Didn't get a touch of the ball.
“Came in, I was thinking, 'fecking hell, that didn't go great for me.' You see what happens. John is ruthless in terms of substitutions and rightly so. He has to be for the betterment of the team.
“I had missed a little bit of the analysis at half-time. So, I came in after being stitched up properly. And I was like, 'Right, nobody said anything to me. That's good.' And then they were going through their few bits and pieces. Still nobody had said anything to me.
“And I remember looking over and the subs were in with us and they all had their bibs on, bar Tom (Morrissey). And I was like, ‘Okay, but he was on. So maybe he just didn't obviously put his bib back on.’
“And then we got up and we started doing our little activation piece and nobody had said anything to me again. I said, ‘Right, okay, so I'm staying on here. I'll probably have five, 10 minutes. So let's make use of it.’
“And I think I caught the first puck-out that went down and caught me. And I was like, ‘Right’. And I think there was a free. And I went from there. And luckily, I started to get into the game better from there on.”
Five catches in total and even though Hegarty failed to score he added another individual gong to add to the collection. “I wouldn't have believed it. I would have been so disappointed in myself if we had lost that I went all the way up to Dublin to play in my favourite ground and not have a shot and lost.”
Wedding bells will be ringing for Hegarty and his fiancée Niamh in Portugal next month. Nuptials colour a large part of this conversation. He remembers June 21 last year for two reasons: the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Dublin and missing his best friend’s wedding. “It was so unusual to be knocked out of the championship on June 21. I didn't know what to do with myself, to be totally honest with you.
“He didn't have a 'day two', so I couldn't even go down the next day and celebrate with them. It was just over. So, it was like a double whammy for me.”
Another wedding, on Niamh’s side, comes up when Hegarty is asked about the 2018 final and how he was able to put that achievement ending a 45-year gap into context.
“A few of her uncles were in their 40s, one of them was 43 and another one was 44 and they were saying, like, 'I just hope you do it next week. Like, I'm 43 and he's 44. We've never seen Limerick win an All-Ireland.’ You know, you do think in those moments, 'wow', like when you stop yourself for a second.”
On the same theme, Hegarty brings up the famous video of Mikey “No More About It” Ryan. The Garryowen man is 92 now. His father Ger asked him to pop into his 90th a couple of years back.
“He (Ryan) said to me that night, ‘I would have been dead long ago only for you.’ And that is not paraphrasing, that is word for word what he said and he's still alive.
"I met him after the Munster final when we were out for a couple of pints and we got a photo of him. He'd be a legend in Limerick city and he's still alive and he's still going to games. It would just make you so proud that these people think of us like that.”
For Hegarty, it feels “like a lifetime” since their last All-Ireland final in 2023. The occasion and the pageantry around the game is for others to enjoy. His greatest appreciation is for the stadium.
“I just love going to Croke Park. I think it's such a historical place. I think it's an incredible place to go to. I dreamed as a young fellow in Limerick growing up to play with Limerick one day, to hopefully get to Croke Park one day. Sometimes, you forget that you're actually living out your dreams that you had as a child. Look, it's just a special place.”
For one more tilt at “one more”.
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