Loyal Limerick hurling fan gets huge tattoo to mark All-Ireland win

ONE LIMERICK hurling fan has shown what the All-Ireland victory meant to him by getting a huge tattoo to commemorate the historic win.

Seanie Kelly, 31, got the tattoo, which consists of the Limerick county coat of arms and the words ‘All-Ireland Champions 2018’, following Limerick's epic win on August 19.

The Bruree native has been living in London for the past five years. He explained his decision to get the tattoo.

“We were heading to an Irish bar in London to watch the quarter-final against Kilkenny. I had a gut feeling we were going to beat them. I was ready to book my flights to head home for the semi-final,” explained Seanie.

“I said to my girlfriend ‘if we win this year, I’m getting a tattoo’. The minute the final whistle blew I booked my flights for the semi-final,” he added.

Seanie says he has no regrets and has described the final as the best day of his life.

“I knew this was our year, being there in Cusack stand at the All-Ireland final was the best day of my life,” he said.

“I’ll never forget that day or the year. I booked in with the tattoo artist for when I got home for Christmas. I made sure to put 2018 on its own so I can add on to it when we win again. Hopefully, I’ll be adding 2019 to it next year,” Seanie continued.

Seanie, who is a sub-contractor in Heathrow airport, waited until he was back in Limerick for Christmas to get the tattoo with local artist, Ross Nagle.

“The tattoo only took an hour, Ross is the best in the business so I wanted to wait until I got home to Limerick for him to do it,” he said.

“Ross said that he expected a lot of people coming in after the all Ireland final looking for a tattoo but I was the first to have it done,” he added.

Seanie has been a huge fan of hurling since he was a child and says he was brought up with the sport.

“I’ve played hurling all my life. You’re just brought up to love hurling where I’m from. Since moving to London, it’s rare I get to have a puck around but I try to watch as many games as I can in our local Irish bar,” he said.