It was a day for memories, of titanic struggles, fierce rivalries, great scores, thrilling wins and later, firm friendships.
They were all brought to mind when generations of All-Ireland winning hurling captains gathered at the weekend to receive Waterford Crystal replicas of the Liam McCarthy Cup which they had all lifted in victory in a packed Croke Park.
The setting on this occasion was the more modest surroundings of Páirc Liam Mac Carthaigh in Ballygarvan near Cork city - the ancestral home of the man who donated hurling's most prized trophy in 1921 - but there was no mistaking the warmth of affection for the generations of captains who made the trip to the south Cork village.
"There's Eddie Keher - he's hardly changed at all," whispered one woman as the six-times All-Ireland winning Kilkenny ace arrived with a host of other famous hurlers such as Jimmy Doyle from Tipperary, Waterford's Frankie Walsh, Dan Quigley from Wexford, Limerick's Eamon Grimes, Galway's Joe Connolly and numerous Cork captains.
Thirty-four All-Ireland winning captains made the journey to Ballygarvan while relatives of the remaining 39 others - many of whom have died - accepted the glass replica McCarthy Cup made by Tom Gleeson and his team at Waterford Crystal from GAA president, Seán Kelly, who came up with the idea for the presentations.
Eighty-eight year old Connie Buckley, who captained the first of Cork's four-in-a- row team in 1941, was the oldest surviving captain and he recalled that memorable summer. "Tipp beat us afterwards in the Munster final - it was the side door then, not the back door, but we had won the All- Ireland and that's all that matters," he told MC Eileen Dunne.
Tipperary's Pat Stakelum and Jimmy Finn - captains in 1949 and 1951 - also attended as did Jim English, who led Wexford to victory in the epic 1956 final when 84,000 people saw Art Foley deny Christy Ring his ninth All-Ireland with a last-minute save.
Christy Ring captained Cork to three All-Ireland wins and his widow, Rita, got a great reception. There was also a warm welcome for Michael Mackey - son of Limerick legend Mick Mackey, Ring's rival for the title of greatest hurler of them all.
Kilkenny was well represented from the 1960s on and there was a particularly warm welcome from the 500-strong home crowd - given the number of times he broke Cork hearts in Croke Park - for Eddie Keher, who said he was especially enjoying meeting old team-mates and fellows against whom he had hurled.
Wexford's Martin Storey was thrilled to meet so many of his own hurling heroes. "I said to my son, Martin Óg, and his friend Anthony Roche - you might live until you're 80 but you'll never be in such hurling company ever again," he said. "I told him to get everybody's autograph - it's unreal. The only thing is you'd be humiliated - you'd be delighted with yourself after winning one All-Ireland until you see the company you're in!"
