Joseph Cooney was thrilled to lead Sarsfields to their first Galway SHC in 18 years.

Cooney was an inspirational captain, producing a Man of the Match display as his side battled to a thrilling replay final victory over Craughwell on Sunday and he has now followed in the footsteps of his father, Joe, and uncles Packie, Brendan, Michael and Peter in claiming county silverware with the club.

"It's been a long time, 18 years coming. I'm absolutely over the moon. It's incredible," he told The Irish Independent. "I remember very little of those glory days. I was only a young lad.

"But it's been bred into us. We knew that if we put in the effort, we had the history and the backing of the club and we could go places. We're delighted that we've finally achieved our potential."

Looking forward to the New Inn club's return to the All-Ireland series next year, the Galway star adds: "We'll take it step by step. We won't be going over the top. We'll enjoy the next few weeks and when the dust settles, we'll knuckle down again.

"We'll be training for next year's championship anyway. It's nice to be there but from here it's a bonus. But we'll push hard."

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