In the crowd, heaving hearts and glistening eyes, typical of All-Ireland hurling final day. Out on the pitch, the players have no place to hide. The adrenaline is pumping and with a minute left, a hero, not a man dressed in Superman garb, but in a saffron jersey with a blue banner strip like 14 others that September day, emerges. Jamesie O'Connor is on the Croke Park pitch, close to the sideline on the Hogan Stand side, and Colin Lynch has just played the sliotar out to him. Tipperary hearts sinks and Clare hearts rise. The right man has the ball. The eyes of 65,575 spectators, 29 other players on the pitch, the respective entourages in the two dug-outs and the green jacket brigade who run the show on the big day, focus in on Jamesie.

He has time and can hit it on his good side. His right hand is four inches down the grip of his hurley, he tosses the ball into the air and, bringing his left hand down to caress his right, swings at the sliotar. An artist in action, and everyone knows the ball is sailing between the posts, a little under 60 yards away, to win the Liam McCarthy Cup.

"My point? Colin got a ball on the side and I called for it and the players just can't hear each other out there. He saw me and went to pass it to me and someone got a touch and he flicked it to me and I had a bit of space and thankfully it sailed over."