Nice and Snappy – David Maher

Clare v Offaly - All Ireland Hurling Final

3 September 1995; Offaly Players Declan Pilkington, John Troy, Johnny Pilkington and Joe Dooley celebrate Johnny Pilkingtons goal. Clare v Offaly, All Ireland Hurling Final 1995. Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE

On this All-Ireland Hurling Final week, we are taking a look back at some of the personal favourite pictures of our photographers from finals past. Now it’s the turn of David Maher.

It was the 1995 final when Clare defeated the reigning champions Offaly, by 1-13 to 2-08, to win the MacCarthy Cup again to bridge a gap of 81 years.

The Final was won by Clare with an Eamonn Taaffe goal, but one of my favourite photos from an All-Ireland Final comes from another goal from that match.

It’s of the reaction of Offaly players after Johnny Pilkington’s second half goal. It shows how important a goal it was for Offaly at the time, and goals can be so important in finals, though for Offaly it wasn’t to be on the day.

Also looking back at this photograph now, it’s easy to forget how a lot of players choose to wear no helmet at the time, something you’d forget about. The people of Offaly would not to be reminded of this final, but as a picture it is one of my favourites.