 | |||||||
| Event | 1994 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 4 September 1994 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park,Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Brian Whelahan[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Willie Barrett (Tipperary) | ||||||
| Attendance | 54,458 | ||||||
| Weather | Dry | ||||||
←1993 1995 → | |||||||
The1994 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 107th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the1994 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-countyhurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held atCroke Park,Dublin, on 4 September 1994, betweenOffaly andLimerick.
The Munster champions lost to their Leinster opponents on a score line of 3-16 to 2-13. The match is known as 'the five-minute final' due to the sensational comeback by Offaly who scored 2-5 to win the game in the last five minutes.[2][3]
With five minutes of normal time remaining, Limerick were leading by 2-13 to 1-11 and looked to be heading to their first title in 21 years when Offaly were awarded a free 20 metres from the goal. Limerick goalkeeperJoe Quaid later admitted that he was to blame for the resultant goal in that he didn't organise his defence well enough to stop a low-struck free fromJohnny Dooley.[4] Quaid was erroneously blamed for Offaly's second goal after what was described as a quick and errant puck-out leading toPat O'Connor putting Offaly a point ahead with a low shot to the net. Quaid later described the puck-out: "I didn’t rush back to the goals. I went back and picked up the ball, walked behind the goals like I normally would.Hegarty was out in the middle of the field on his own. I dropped the ball into his hand 70 yards out from goal. He caught the ball and in contact the ball squirted out of his hands." Because the television coverage was still showing a replay of the first goal, very few people got to see the build up to the second and when live transmission was resumed, the sliotar was still dropping towards Pat O'Connor leading people to assume that Quaid rushed his puck-out.[5] Limerick went on to lose the game by 3-16 to 2-13.[6][7]
| Offaly | 3-16 – 2-13 | Limerick |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Dooley (1-4), Joe Dooley (1-2), B. Dooley (0-5), P. O'Connor (1-0), J. Pilkington (0-2), J. Troy (0-1), D. Pilkington (0-1), M. Duignan (0-1). | D. Quigley (2-3), G. Kirby (0-6), C. Carey (0-2), M. Houlihan (0-1), L. O'Connor (0-1). |
       Offaly |  Limerick |
In 2012,The Guardian'sBarry Glendenning (who is from Offaly) listed it as one of six "late sporting dramas", alongside events fromThe Ashes and theWinter Olympic Games.[8]
Brian Whelahan, more than anyone, came to typify the spirit that saw the Faithful County win a couple of All-Ireland titles in 1994 and 1998. He was man of the match on both occasions…
