There was much jubilation as Galway broke the twenty nine years gap to win Liam McCarthy Cup and brought back the Irish Press cup at Croke Park on Sunday.
A huge Turloughmore support had gathered in Dublin, many of them without tickets, to support the strong Turloughmore presence on the field.
Turloughmore were represented by Daithi Burke on the senior team, with Sean Loftus and Ronal Burke on the bench, Francis Forde as coach and selector with Daniel Loftus and Conor Walsh on the minor team, while manager Michael Donoghue is married to Turloughmore native Siobhan O’Shaughnessy.
It was one of the greatest days in Croke Park for many people who had never seen Galway win an All-Ireland hurling final.
Turloughmores have a proud history of participation on All-Ireland senior final day in Corke Park. Ever since the legendary Pakie Burke wore the Galway jersey with pride on All-Ireland final day in Croke Park in 1958, the club has been involved at so many levels of Galway hurling.
Seventy years after the GAA club was founded in Turloughmore, amalgamation of all teams saw Turloughmore united and winning a senior championship. Since then many players have worn the Galway jersey in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day and after many dreadful years in the wilderness Turloughmore were involved in the revival of Galway hurling in 1972 when Galway won the Under 21 title with Frank Burke, Gerry Holland, Paddy O’Brien and Willie Cullinane as well as manager Frank Fah all involved.
In 1975 Galway won the National Hurling League and were back in the All Ireland final and Frank Burke and P.J. Qualter were part of those teams.
In 1980 Frank Burke became the first Turloughmore man to win an All-Ireland senior medal and in 1987 Martin Naughton and Gerry Burke were on the squad winning All-Ireland senior medals with Phelim Murphy as selector.
In 2012 Turloughmore’s Fergal Moore became the first Galway man to lift the Bob O’Keefe Cup when Galway won their first Leinster title in 2012 and he led Galway to an All Ireland final without success that year.
In 2015 Sean Loftus became the first Turloughmore person to climb the steps of the Hogan stand to collect an All-Ireland trophy when Galway won the minor, since Bernie Duffy collected a camogie cup in the seventies, although Michael Shaughnessy collected a total of eleven All Ireland cups in the All Ireland Puc Fada competition.
In 2010 Turloughmore club captained by Sean Linnane who played for the Ulster 21 team last month, lifted the Christy Ring Trophy as Turloughmore became the Feile na Gael All Ireland Division One champions.
Several other players from Turloughmore club have won various All-Ireland titles in Junior, Intermediate, Under 21, Minor, and under age over the years. Now Daithi Burke, Sean Loftus and Ronan Burke along with Daniel Loftus and Conor Walsh join the elite of honours, as does Francis Forde.
