TOMMY STACK has played on hotter days in the Gaelic Grounds and in front of bigger crowds but nothing the wiry fullback has achieved in football before topped yesterday afternoon.

As the Drom-Broadford team captain Tom McLoughlin delivered a long and emotional speech, Stack was happy to stand on the edge of the circle where his team-mates and friends celebrated.

"I just think it is a fantastic achievement for us. We had such hard work put in this year. We knew something special was going to happen this year and it has just snowballed. We looked at this as just another game - I know it isn't but we had to analyse it and look at it as though it was. We were a bit shaky at the start but I think we showed our true colours in the second half.

"For me it is more special than anything because the club is where you grow up and where your friends are and where you kick football as a young fella. So to represent your club in a Munster final is phenomenal really.

"It is beyond my wildest dreams. Having experiences with the county was great but I would have to say it is more special - I am thinking of my family and all the fellas I have played with over the years."

Stack is a veteran of the nearly years for Limerick, when the county side pushed hard for a Munster title. But in the end, it was through his club that he found deliverance.

"I have a good few years under my belt and it has been a long road. Any fella who has joined the panel will know there is great camaraderie here and that makes it easy to train and to turn up on the tough nights.

"I look back now and I can see what the void is, I missed out on it at the time but this makes up for it. Hopefully kids here can see that big things are possible for Limerick football and will keep the interest going. It has to increase effort in the clubs as well."

Team manager John Brudair grinned broadly as he relived the last few seconds of the match, when it was all in the lap of the gods. "We tried to hold possession and we probably should have kicked the ball to the corner. We tried to make a substitution and the lady on the time clock said game over. Next thing they robbed us and there was a free. I was just thinking, 'Oh my God, here we go, a draw'. Lucky enough - and unfortunately for Kilmurry - it didn't go over."

And that has made all the difference.