Borris-Ileigh stalwart Paddy Stapleton described his side's journey to the AIB All-Ireland Club SHC final as a "tonic" after a painful period for all those associated with the club.
The Tipperary champions advanced to the Croke Park decider courtesy of a 1-21 to 1-14 win over St Thomas' of Galway in Limerick on Sunday afternoon.
Stapleton lost his sister Amanda to cancer last May, while clubmates John Ryan and Nicky Cooney also died tragically last summer. The death of Martin Hayes, an iconic figure at Borris-Ileigh, also rocked the local community.
Reflecting on the impact the club's run has had on those still suffering from bereavement, Stapleton said: "I think it's just a great tonic.
"I was asked about it recently, and it'll never ever make up for anything, but life has to go on and you have to enjoy yourself.
"I don’t think any of the people who have passed away would want us sitting in a corner and being depressed about it. Go out and live your life.
"Of course you have sad moments, but we want to live on and be happy, and try and enjoy life as they would want us to."
Full-Time Highlights of Borris-Ileigh (Tipperary) vs St. Thomas (Galway) in the AIB Senior Club Hurling Semi-Final here on GAANOW. pic.twitter.com/8P0atCokHz
— The GAA (@officialgaa) January 5, 2020
A goal right before the full-time whistle from teenager James Devaney put daylight between the sides, but it had been a mighty battle right into injury-time.
Stapleton admitted that the sense of relief in the Borris-Ileigh dressing room was palpable, with the 34-year-old former All-Ireland winner telling RTÉ Sport: "They're just kind of delighted and relieved because you never know how many chances you're going to get.
"I was delighted the way we performed, in terms that we kept a very strong backline and we scored well.
"We missed a few scores but they hit a lot of wides. But that’s down to our work rate. Our intensity is very, very good.
"We came back in numbers and we worked together.
"That’s our mantra for the year - working together - nobody can win this on their own.
"I think we played well enough. Looking forward, you would think that definitely wouldn’t be good enough to win an All-Ireland, but today we're delighted."
Seven-time winners Ballyhale Shamrocks stand between the Premier kingpins and All-Ireland glory after the Kilkenny bluebloods emerged victorious from a pulsating clash with Derry champions Slaughtneil.
The magnitude of the task facing Borris-Ileigh isn't lost on Stapleton.
"It's David and Goliath stuff, in terms of what they have won over the years," he admitted.
"We'll be under no illusions. We haven’t looked at them yet.
"I know they had a tough enough match today against Slaughtneil, who are obviously very, very accomplished too.
"We’ll have to look at their last couple of matches and see is there anything we can take from them."
