Shane Stapleton chats with two-time All Star Declan Browne about Tipperary’s first Munster SFC title since 1935 after beating Cork.
BY SHANE STAPLETON
Tipperary football legend Declan Browne burst into tears when his county won their first Munster SFC title since 1935 on Sunday.
The Premier County were massive outsiders in the provincial decider with Cork down on Leeside, but belied the odds to win a gripping contest.
Conor Sweeney, Michael Quinlivan and AFL star Colin O’Riordan were among the main men for Tipp, who were wearing the Grangemockler colours to honour those who died on Bloody Sunday in 1920.
“Ah sure I was crying, to be honest with you,” says two-time All Star Browne. “It was so emotional.
“You would be proud as punch, but jealous at the same time โ you’d like to be out on the field and part of that history.
“Those guys were super, and especially with the weekend that was in it โ Bloody Sunday and all the history.
“Conor Sweeney mentioned in his post-match interview that it was his job after the Limerick match to focus the lads, and get focussed on Cork and not on the historic events.
“That was huge. Conor has been doing it all along. Mikey has been slow out of the traps the last couple of days but he turned it on.
“It’s hard to sum it up. We’d all love to be there to be celebrating with them.
“At the end of the day, it’s history and great to be part of it some way down through the years.
“There’s a plethora of players down through the years who thought we would never see this day,” he adds.
“Selectors, managers, administrators, we all hoped it would have happened long before now.
“Once Kerry were out of the equation, it set this up nicely for us.
“A lot of thee lads have played Cork underage, beat them at minor and under-21, and they don’t fear Cork.
“Obviously Cork were then having to go through all the questions: could they back it up after beating Kerry?
“I think the good Tipp start rattled Cork, and I don’t think they recovered from that.”
Browne talks about the influence of manager David Power, the return of O’Riordan and more in the interview (click play on the video at the top of the page).
