Craig Morgan - 'You have to think of the good times as well and Dillon would like that'

Craig Morgan has been a rising star for both Tipperary and his club Kilruane MacDonaghs in recent years, and at the beginning of the club season, you would have assumed that for the magpies to get to a county decider, they would need Morgan at the peak of his powers, but he will have to be content with looking on from the sidelines this Sunday as he friends and teammates take the field.

He recalled the injury which ended his year prematurely in the group stage match against Nenagh Éire Óg.

“It all happened very fast but I felt a pop alright. I just ended up on the ground and the pain was very bad for about a minute,” he recalled.

“In the back of my mind I was hoping it was something else. You feel you can play on but it wasn’t able to put my foot into the ground.

“I went to Cork for the scan the following Wednesday and they told me then.

“It is just one of those things and I just have to get on with it.”

Growing up hearing stories about the great Kilruane teams of the 70’s and 80’s would have given Morgan a burning desire to replicate those teams who won county, Munster and All Ireland titles, and to not be able to participate in one of the biggest days in the clubs history is a tough one for Morgan to take.

“It’s tough, but it is not about me at the minute, it is about the lads, the club, the parish.

“Coming in here this evening and seeing the flags around the place gives me a little motivation to go in (to the gym) and do my exercises. My knee will be fine but at the minute it is all about the lads and trying to get them over the line.

“There has been a big reaction from the lads as well which has been great to see because we are all in it together. We are taking it some steps at a time, the next training session, the next gym session, the next match and it is working well for us at the minute so we are just keeping our feet grounded now and keep going,” he added.

Kilruane have been to the business end of the championship on a few occasions in the past five years, but alway seemed to come unstuck when everything seemed to be in their favour, and Morgan attributes that extra push and belief being created by their team manager.

“Liam (O’Kelly) has been excellent since he came in. His main focus was getting everyone together, getting a real sense of togetherness and unity. 

“He got the gym built and that really has been our home for the last two years. It’s where we have our meetings, do our gym sessions, our recovery, and Liam has been central to all of that.

“My own father (Christy) is involved as well and it has a real family feel. We have good craic as well, we don’t take it too seriously, we try to enjoy it as well because with everything that has happened over the last couple of months, you need to enjoy your hurling, meeting the lads and socialising and that is a very important aspect.”

It has been a turbulent year on the field for all involved with Kilruane MacDonaghs, having been the opponents to Clonoulty Rossmore when the tragic death of Dillon Quirke unfolded on that fateful day back in August, but none more so than Morgan, who was marking his county teammate and friend at the time.

“It all happened very fast,” he remembered.

“In a way I was glad to be there for him as well.

“I didn’t know straight away (how serious it was) but after a couple of minutes things started to get serious.

“You have to think of the good times as well and Dillon would like that as well because we went on holiday a month before that and some of the best memories I ever had were on that holiday with Dillon.”

But for Morgan, life and hurling inevitably goes on, and he is hopeful that this generation of Kilruane MacDonaghs men can add yet further glory to a club with a rich tradition and history in Tipperary hurling.

“It’s a different time. It is a new team, a new generation,” he finished.