Jennifer Malone, the young Kilkenny fan who famously consoled Pauric Mahony after the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford, appeared with her mother on a special news segment in tribute to that moment.
It was one of the moments of the GAA year. When Pauric Mahony missed a last-minute free to draw the All-Ireland hurling semi-final against Kilkenny, he slumped to the ground, devastated. There to comfort him was Jennifer Malone, a young Kilkenny fan who stopped her celebrations to try and see if Mahony was alright.
The picture went viral as GAA fans all around the country were touched by the image. The two shared an award for 'Moment of the Year' at the Irish Star GAA Awards, where they were re-united.
And now RTE, looking back at the year that was in it, have spoken to Jennifer and her mother Donna (as well as Mahony) about the incident.
Clearly Donna was proud of her daughter's actions when speaking to RTE.
I was like, 'Oh God, Jennifer, that's so nice! But from there, I started getting messages saying they'd seen her on television and just messages from people all around the world.
Mahony was also asked about the moment and acknowledged that it did perhaps help him in the days after the match.
I just remember I hit the deck, and I suppose I just wanted that ground to swallow me up and then it was when I got back on the bus that I saw the picture of Jennifer.
I suppose it helped me maybe get over the next couple of days when I saw the support that's out there.
Jennifer Malone and mother Donna appear on RTE News
In the first of a series looking at 2016 headline makers, we catch-up with Kilkenny fan Jennifer Malone. pic.twitter.com/gSFEtmjTW2
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 20, 2016
