St. Thomas's manager John Burke hailed it as a 'great day' for his club after the Galway outfit claimed the AIB Club All-Ireland Senior Hurling title for the first time, following a two-point win over Kilcormac-Killoughey this afternoon.

Burke had six sons and one nephew in the St. Thomas squad for today's encounter, with band of brothers also with Skehill's, Murray's, Cooney's and Kelly's ensuring it was a family affair.

"It's a great day for the club and the parish, it's absolutely wonderful," a beaming John Burke proclaimed after the game.

"These are a great bunch of young men. Going back the last few years, we were beaten in the Galway semi-final last year (2011) and we said we would give it another go and they did.

"They put in the work and the hours and they got the result today for it."

Many clubs dream of reaching days like St. Patrick's Day in Croke Park, and while St. Thomas's only claimed their first Galway title in the 2012/2013 campaign, their manager always had the belief, even in the darkest days that they could go on to lift the Tommy Moore Cup.

"Not to be boasting, but we actually did," he said.

"Myself and the two selectors (Justin Flannery and Jimmy Kelly) know that we have a special group of players here. They are great bunch, they are very close and they are well able to hurl.

"We said that if we just got the right ingredients together we could do it, and we were probably luck that we got the right ingredient in Dinny Cahill who was a big help to us and able to get that little bit more out of them." Tweet

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