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23rd Aug 2021

Limerick hurlers pose with their babies after historic win

Sarah McKenna Barry

Fans were delighted to see the proud dads celebrate the sporting moment with their tiny babies.

Yesterday saw Limerick defeat Cork in the All-Ireland hurling final in Croke Park.

Shortly after their victory, a number of the teams players went straight over to the crowd to celebrate the moment with their babies.

Star player Barry Hennessy nabbed his daughter Hope, Cian Lynch cuddled his nephew Shé, goalkeeper Nickie Quaid stood his son Daithi in the Liam MacCarthy Cup, Graeme Mulcahy posed with his daughter Rosie and the team’s selector Paul Kinnerk cradled his daughter Enya on the pitch.

To protect their hearing from the roars of the 40,000 fans, each baby was kitted out with a pair of ear protectors to match their teeny Limerick jerseys.

Hennessy’s daughter Hope is just a couple of weeks old, but seemed completely unphased by the drama of the final, and snoozed in her dad’s arms as he popped her soother into his mouth.

The Kilamollock and Limerick player announced Hope’s arrival earlier this month.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “A week of Hope.

“One week ago today baby Hope Hennessy arrived into our world and never could we imagine the happiness that one tiny human could bring in such a short space of time.”

He added that he is “so incredibly proud” of his partner Elaine and “everything she did to bring our precious girl into the world.”

“Forever in your debt,” he wrote. “Here’s to spending the rest of your life trying not to be the embarrassing Dad.”

Over on Twitter, fans were delighted to see the doting dads celebrate the historic sporting moment with their babies.

One viewer wrote: “The game had everything wow!! And now there are little babies on the pitch in noise protectors. Comhgairdeas Limerick!!”

Another tweeted: “All the Limerick players with their wee babies after the match.. can’t cope.”

Photos by Stephen McCarthy and Brendan Moran via Sportsfile.