Thousands come to honour Dillon at wake

They came from near and far to remember Dillon Quirke at Gorteenamona, Rossmore, on Monday evening.

It didn’t matter how long they had to wait, one hour, two hours, three hours, they just had to pay their respects, many of whom never knew Dillon or his family, but they felt they had to be there to offer some semblance of comfort and support to the Quirke family in their grief at losing a son and brother.

They included former Kilkenny manager Brian Cody and Waterford great Ken McGrath, along with former Tipperary manager Michael ‘Babs’ Keating and former GAA President Christy Cooney.

A call from the family for people to wear their club colours or wear the number 11 was adhered to in many cases with clubs from all parts of the county represented, including those from afar.

The GAA family has endured its fair share of tragedies and 2022 has been tough with Kate Moran in Galway and Damien Casey in Tyrone, but Dillon Quirke’s passing really hit home to many as he died on the field of play.

One of the most poignant aspects was outside the front door, a plot of grass turf cut out from the Semple Stadium pitch at the spot where Dillon “laid his head to rest” and was buried with Dillon. It was a simple yet thoughtful gesture by the Tipperary GAA family to the Quirke family.

It was obvious they took great pride in Dillon’s achievements with framed jerseys of the two shining moments of his all too brief career, the 2018 All-Ireland Under 21 Championship win with Tipperary, and top of the lot the 2018 County Senior Hurling title with his beloved Clonoulty/Rossmore.

They would have been hoping for more before tragedy cut his life dreadfully short. He packed a lot into his 24 years and in time his family will be able to reflect on joy and pride he brought to them then the grief subsides.