Walter Walsh vividly remembers the moment he found out he was going to be starting the 2012 All-Ireland SHC final against Galway.

Despite having no championship experience under his belt, the Tullogher Rosbercon clubman repaid Brian Cody's faith in him when delivering a 'man-of-the-match' performance.

Speaking to The Irish Independent in advance of this Sunday's Liam MacCarthy Cup decider, the 24-year-old recalled: "We typically have meetings the Friday night before a big game on the Sunday.

"Normally there's a flipchart there and the team is revealed. The page is flicked back, and when the page is flicked back, I didn't expect to see my name there. But it was. And I was quite shocked, as you can imagine.

"I suppose I was lucky in the sense I had Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, David Herity - these guys were very good, and just told me to treat it like another game, and not to be too nervous."

He continued: "It was very surreal at the time. I was in shock after the game, and wasn't even thinking about man of the match until CityWest, when someone said it to me.

"I was just delighted with winning an All-Ireland. That's what it's all about. The personal things come after, but as a team that's all you want."

Fast forward to this week and Walsh hopes history will repeat itself against the Tribesmen.

"Galway look to be playing very well," he observed. "The forwards are scoring a lot and seem to be working hard together. They seem very intense in their play, their work-rate is very impressive."

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