Noel McGrath is in the lobby of Malahide’s Grand Hotel, patiently posing for photographs and cheerfully signing autographs.
The Irish Sea just beyond the double doors is hidden beneath a low grey haze while incessant summer rain continues to soak the shoreline. It has been a dark, heavy morning across much of the country but there is a lightness to the air inside the hotel foyer.
McGrath was a kid of just 19 when he won his first All-Ireland senior hurling title in 2010. On Sunday, at 34 years young, he collected his fourth Celtic Cross for Tipperary.
Walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand to raise the Liam MacCarthy Cup, he brought his two-year-old son Sam with him to the plinth.
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“To be able to have my son there yesterday was probably one of the greatest things I could have done. I lifted the Liam MacCarthy with him in my arms,” says McGrath with a smile.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d be able to bring him to Croke Park [while I’m still playing], so to win an All-Ireland with him is unreal.
“That will be something I will remember forever. In time, I suppose he’ll see all the pictures from it. He won’t remember it but he’ll have those pictures. It’s special for me to be able to do that with him.”
There is a second child on the way in October. Life is about to get even busier, even better.
As he speaks, several of McGrath’s team-mates are meandering through the lobby, floating around with expressions of total satisfaction painted across their faces. Tipperary manager Liam Cahill has taken Liam MacCarthy and a group of players to Children’s Health Ireland (formerly Crumlin Children’s Hospital) while others are standing around in small clusters trying to organise taxis to deliver them to one of the city’s early houses.
Conor Stakelum is one of those ambling around the place. This is his first experience of winning an All-Ireland SHC.
“It’s the stuff of dreams really,” he says. “I was on my phone looking at the messages, soaking it in, then I came down to the lobby here and you see everybody smiling.
“You’d always be watching the news after All-Ireland finals, dreaming about being there some day and seeing the buzz around the day after. Now you’re in it.”
Dillon Quirke is never far from the thoughts of this Tipperary group. Nearly three years have passed since he collapsed during a club match and was pronounced dead in hospital.
For Stakelum, Sunday brought back memories of the 2018 All-Ireland under-21 final between Tipp and Cork.
“A couple of us were out with Dan and Hazel Quirke (Dillon’s parents) on Friday before training, we had a cup of tea and a scone,” says Stakelum.
“Dillon was playing that day [in 2018] and we were just chatting about that match. When we were on the bus yesterday it started to rain, and it was raining that day too.
“If things were different Dillon would be here today and no better man to enjoy it with us if he was here.”
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McGrath will turn 35 in December. His story of resilience and defiance has already guaranteed him a place in the pantheon of Tipp greats. In 2015 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and just days later he underwent surgery. But he hasn’t let it define him, having now added three further All-Ireland titles. He also claimed this latest one alongside his brothers, John and Brian.
“As I said after the semi-final, it never gets old,” he says of playing for Tipperary. “As long as you’re able to do it and to have days like this, it would keep anyone in good form and looking to do it again. It’s great, it’s unreal, it’s unbelievable.”
The retirement question has dangled overhead for a few seasons but the blue and gold has, for now, always enticed him back.
“There’s no point in saying over the last number of years that you don’t think about it,” says the Loughmore-Castleiney man.
“When you’re feeling good about it and when you’re enjoying it, it’s hard to step away, because when you’re gone, you’re gone. You’re not going to come back at my age.
“Who knows about the future? There’s no point in me saying here now what I know I’m going to do. I’d love to stay playing forever but I know that can’t happen.”
The temptation might be to sign off on his Tipperary career with that final act of striking over the last point of an All-Ireland final victory. It would be quite the way to go.
But the lure of a possible fifth medal is real.
“I’d love to be able to give it a go and have a rattle off it next year again, but we’ll go back to the club over the next few months and we’ll battle it out against each other there and see what happens.”
Outside, the rain continues to fall but nothing can dampen the mood of contentment swirling through the hotel. Just over McGrath’s shoulder, outside the double doors, is the team bus. It’ll be off to Tipperary soon. Taking Liam MacCarthy home.
For the fourth time and counting, Noel McGrath will be along for the ride.
