Tipperary manager Liam Cahill identified the last-gasp defeat of Clare in the Munster SHC as the moment his team "turned a corner", following their breathtaking 3-27 to 1-18 rout of Cork in the All-Ireland hurling final.
The Premier County turned a six-point half-time deficit into a 15-point victory as they beat Cork 3-14 to 0-02 in the second period.
Cahill said that he never doubted his team and pinpointed that 4-18 to 2-21 win in Ennis as the time the team that disappointed so much in 2023 and 2024 showed their mettle.
"The honesty of that group of players, I never doubted them. I know we're all a little sensitive after what happened last year and some of the criticism was probably deserved.
"But I knew the quality of these men, got in among them and started supporting them better and got them believing again. I knew we'd have a great opportunity to lift the spirits of the Tipperary people again," said Cahill.
"I really thought when Clare came back level with us in Ennis. You know, a knockout championship Munster hurling match. Three minutes to go, the All-Ireland champions peg you back from being 12 points up.
"Another team would have gone away, this team didn't and we got back out of there still contesting the championship. I thought we really turned a corner that day."
They certainly did it the hard way in the final, conceding a goal to Cork's Shane Barrett on the stroke of half-time, with the manager speculating on the effect the second-half comeback would have on his own parents.
"My mother has probably swallowed her rosary beads and my father has probably the cows milked three times with nervousness. I'm so thrilled for everybody.
"So thrilled for supporters, the whole shebang."
How did his team absorb the hammer blow of Barrett's goal? According to Cahill, even with that major, Tipp were still where they wanted to be at the break.
"We said if we were within five or six at half-time we'd be happy. That's where we were. The goal before half-time was a killer but that is a testament to the character of these men. Our performance coach as well, had a big part to play on that, Cathal Sheridan, top man."
"My mother has probably swallowed her rosary beads and my father has probably the cows milked three times with nervousness. I'm so thrilled for everybody."
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 20, 2025
Tipperary manager Liam Cahill said he never doubted his players, going from a low ebb to glory. #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/Bvsj43cH9o
Cahill has managed to marry the fearlessness of youth with a solid, experienced spine, and the manager paid tribute to both cohorts.
"So many of them fellas I had at minor and Under-20 and Under-21 coming through. I'm just so proud of them. Then the older brigade, or the more experienced, we won't call them older. The leadership was incredible.
"John McGrath coming back from a horrific injury two, three years ago, Willie Connors the same, Seamus Kennedy the same, Noel [McGrath] and Jason [Forde], just superb. Mikey Breen in the corner, just superb."
