Ciaran mcgraths allireland glory and injury heartbreak

THE GODS of sporting glory smiled kindly on Ciaran McGrath’s brave comeback from a career-threatening injury in October 2012. Two-and-a-half years later, thanks to a recovery that was a magnificent tribute to his personal courage, single-minded determination and commitment to a great cause, he got the opportunity to fight for the prize of a lifetime on the greatest battlefield. He emerged victorious. It was a long, hard road. At the end of it, glory.
For Ciaran (“Giz”) McGrath and his Corofin team-mates at Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day 2015, it was their date with destiny. Defeat was not an option. All-Ireland Club Football Championship glory had slipped out of their grasp in other years. They lost two semi-finals in which they were unlucky, to Kilmacud Crokes from Dublin in February 2009 and to St Gall’s from Belfast the following year.