Iraqi-born Zak Moradi was thrilled to play his part in Leitrim's Lory Meagher Cup triumph on Saturday.

The 28-year-old came off the bench to score a point in his side's historic extra-time victory over Lancashire at Croke Park. It made up for the disappointment of Leitrim's final defeat to Warwickshire two years ago.

Born in 1991, Zak moved to Carrick-on-Shannon with his family as an 11-year-old, but is now based in Tallaght where he is a member of the Thomas Davis GAA club. 

"A lot of counties probably look down on us, but there's a lot of lads on the Leitrim hurling team that have the same heart and passion as Kilkenny and Cork and all of those lads," he said in an interview with RTE.

"All these lads are training three or four times a week, matches, they work. It's the commitment. This is our All-Ireland, we will celebrate now for the next week or two. It's one of the proudest days of my life today."

Moradi went on to explain how he had been welcomed into the GAA community after his family fled Iraq in 2002, just before the US invaded the country and overthrew Saddam Hussein.

"I probably made friends easier. All the mentors there (at St Mary's GAA club) were really helpful, they collected us for training and brought us home. The GAA is a great organisation, it’s like a family. Everyone knows each other, especially in Leitrim.

"I didn't have a word of English when I arrived, but it was exciting. In Iraq, it was a difficult place to be brought up because of the dictatorship. Saddam Hussein was in charge of the country, but in Ireland there was a democracy. Everybody was happy, it was green. Everything was different."

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