There was no shortage of outstanding performances on Limerick's All-Ireland winning team this afternoon, Gearóid Hegarty stood out as the best player on the pitch.
Operating at wing-forward, he was absolutely immense from the first whistle. He was the driving force behind many of the good things Limerick did, putting on a point-taking display. In total, he would score 0-7 from play.
It was no surprise when The Sunday Game panel selected him as their man-of-the-match after the final whistle, an award that was filly deserved.
Speaking to RTÉ after the game, he revealed that the thought of a December All-Ireland triumph was all that could keep him motivated during some tough months earlier in the year.
Man of the match Gearóid Hegarty admitted the thought of winning an All-Ireland title with Limerick before Christmas kept him motivated during the lockdown period. pic.twitter.com/4BNd79KJiS
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) December 13, 2020
READ HERE: How Return To Junior Hurling Brought Gearóid Hegarty 'Back Down To Earth'
There was people saying that we were disappointed with our performances so far. You don't get to an All-Ireland final easy, we had to battle and fight for every single ball in every single game so far this year.
We judge ourselves internally in terms of our own performances and we were happy enough getting to the All-Ireland final today. We knew we were on an upward curve and we would save our best until last...
It'll be a great Christmas... we will find a way (to celebrate the win).
I found it incredibly hard over lockdown to keep the training going. There was light at the end of the tunnel for a long time, we didn't know if there was going to be any championship or not. There was ifs and buts, will it go ahead or won't it.
The one thing that was keeping me going was imagining winning an All-Ireland at Christmas time, how good Christmas would be. I'm going to be looking forward to the next few weeks.
We can only imagine the satisfaction of sitting down for your Christmas dinner with an All-Ireland medal in your back pocket. Maybe next year...
SEE ALSO: Declan Hannon Pays Tribute To Those Who Suffered In 2020 In All-Ireland Speech
