"I don't think anyone in their wildest dreams would have come up with that scenario"

August 21, 2025

Tipperary's John McGrath celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Cork during the All-Ireland SHC final at Croke Park ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Tipperary star John McGrath says nobody in their wildest dreams could’ve come up with the scenario which saw the Premier men stunning Cork in last month’s All-Ireland SHC final.

Liam Cahill’s side triumphed to their county’s 31st All-Ireland senior hurling crown after outscoring the Rebels by 3-14 to 0-2 in a remarkable second-half which saw them tearing up the script at Croke Park to win by 15 points in the end.

McGrath, who was named the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month for July this week, lined out at full-forward on that unforgettable day for Tipp and told RTE Sport that there “certainly was an element of shock”.

"It's hard to put your finger on. In all the permutations that you're thinking (about) in the weeks leading up, they definitely all cross your mind," he said.

"But the manner in which we won it, I don't think anyone in their wildest dreams would have come up with that scenario.

"There certainly was an element of shock. I knew we were relatively well up but to actually see the final score, it was kinda hard to believe that that had just happened.

"Sport is funny like that. Everything just started to go right for us at a certain point of that second half. And the exact opposite for Cork at different stages - hitting the post, hitting the crossbar. Them little bits of luck are needed along the way.

"But our lads just absolutely powered into that last 35 minutes. To save the best 35 minutes of the year for that time in an All-Ireland final... It's the kind of thing that you hope is going to happen. But how often does that actually come to fruition? It's unreal from that point of view."


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