Limerick defeated Longford in their opening round game of the Tailteann Cup on Saturday evening.
For Longford manager Paddy Christie, the loss hurt even more as he'd left his son's first communion ceremony in Dublin to be at Limerick's Gaelic Grounds in time for the 4:45pm throw-in.
Christie, who is in his first season as Longford manager, is also the principal of Kilcoskan National School, whose pupils were marking their first communion.
"There was a communion on in the school," Christie told RTÉ.
"The young fella was getting his communion, and I'm the principal of the school as well - Kilcoskan National School.
"That probably made life difficult. That's one of those things, it would have been grand if we'd won."
Tailteann Cup Round 1
Full-time
Longford 1-16
Limerick 2-16@Longford_Leader @ShannonsideFM @ClubLongford pic.twitter.com/UY0xyOXe4l— Longford GAA (@OfficialLDGAA) May 13, 2023
Limerick won Saturday's game 2-16 to 1-16.
"No matter what anyone says, when you walk off the pitch having given it a good crack [you're happy] - and that's what we'd asked beforehand," said Christie.
"I wouldn't say you're enjoying those defeats, but you do say, 'Look, we gave it a good crack'. There's something about dying with your boots on, and giving it a serious go as opposed to fizzling away.
"I'm overall happy with that. It would have been nicer, having had a long day, to finish with a win. It's positive overall. Even with the players afterwards, as they were walking in, they knew themselves that they'd given it a good crack."
Along with Limerick and Longford, Wicklow and Carlow are the other two sides in Group 3 of the Tailteann Cup. Carlow defeated Wicklow by a point in Aughrim on Sunday. This weekend, Longford play at home to Wicklow while Carlow are at home to Limerick.
The top team in each group goes straight through to the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals, while the second-placed teams go into the preliminary quarter-finals.
The three third-placed teams with the best records also go into the preliminary quarter-finals, while the third placed team with the worst record and all fourth placed teams will be eliminated from the championship.
