COMEBACK KID: Brian Whelahan togged out for Galway in a game last night

The sight of Brian  Whelahan on a hurling pitch is something that pleases Offaly supporters, even to this day. The man is a bonafide legend of the game.

A winner of almost every honour in the game, including All-Ireland SHC medals with his  county  in 1994 and 1998, he was twice chosen as Texaco Hurler of the Year and received four All-Star awards.

The bigger the occasion, the better he performed, exemplified by the fact he was chosen as man of the match in two All-Ireland SHC finals, and in three of the All-Ireland Club finals he won with Birr.

On Thursday evening, the sight of him in a Galway jersey would have irked a few Offaly fans, but it was for a good cause, at least. 

A Galway legends team, joined by a few faces from other counties , including Whelahan and Ger Hegarty from Limerick, took on the newly crowned All-Ireland champions. 

The game was played in front of a packed crowd at Pearse Stadium in memory of the late legendary Tribesman, Tony Keady, who passed away in August. Keady was part of the 1987 and 1988 All-Ireland winning teams from Galway. 

The game was played to raise money for the Tony Keady fund and was a massive success. The referee is said to have stopped keeping score after an onslaught of goals from the 1980s team. We'd say most of them were belted in by Whelahan  from wing back! Let's be honest. 

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