David Power was close to tears after leading Tipperary to their first Munster SFC title since 1935.

Coming the day after the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Pairc Ui Chaoimh was awash with emotion as Tipp triumphed over favourites Cork on a 0-17 to 0-14 scoreline.

“A huge day, 85 years waiting. I’m ready to cry, to be honest. It’s massive. I kept saying to the players, ‘it’s been the last 15 years of hard work’. Getting to Munster minor finals and U21 finals, maybe not winning all the time," the Tipp manager said in an interview with RTÉ shortly after the final whistle.

“Just proud to see the likes of Philly Austin and Brian Fox and all these great guys that have ploughed the fields for Tipp football for the last 15 years, it’s just massive.

“The last 10 years Tipp are going well underage. We wanted to make our mark at senior.

"It’s just huge for Tipp football, the knock-on effects will be huge. You’re going to see primary school children wanting to play football for Tipp in the next 20 or 30 years. That’s what it’s about."

Power guided the Premier County to a famous All-Ireland MFC final victory over Dublin in 2011 and was always hopeful that they could replicate that success at senior level.

“I always believed," he continued. 

"I remember saying it to a group of friends in 2010, that this minor team was going to win an All-Ireland. I've always had that belief, I’ve grown up with Tipp football, all my life. All the great men who are not here, the likes of Hugh Kennedy, Mick Frawley, all the great men, there’s so many names.”

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