The father of Dillon Quirke has spoken glowingly of his son as he remembered his untimely death last year.
Quirke had burst onto the scene for Tipperary in 2022 but tragically passed away in August last year during a Championship game for his club Clonoulty–Rossmore.
And Dan Quirke appeared on Ireland AM as he looked to raise awareness and funds for the Dillon Quirke foundation.
And speaking on his son, he said: "From the minute he could walk, it was all about hurling.
"He loved life to the full, he loved life and playing jokes. It was all about full with Dillon, even when he was hurling he had a smile on his face. At the funeral, people would come up to us and say he always had a smile on his face from the minute he got up."
And Dan spoke about his son being diagnosed with myocarditis and his health struggles.
He said: "He had issues with his heart in 2018 and was diagnosed with myocarditis and h was out for six to eight months without any sport which he found difficult but he managed it fine.
"His immune system was very poor even before that and since that so he needed a break and the break was good for him but he got back to playing sport in late 2019.
"Three to four weeks before he passed away he got dizzy on two occasions during training maybe two weeks apart and then he went down and got tested in Cork.
"He got an ECG and an echo and a treadmill test and everything seemed to be more or less okay or maybe a little bit unusual.
"Then we had the MRI scan and he passed in the meantime and there nothing we could do.
"It is very hard to accept but we keep coming back to the electronics in Dillon's heart were very poor so he would have had a desperate life so we like to look at it that the 24 years he had were exceptional. It meant everything to us and he enjoyed every minute of it.
"When he got the knock out we were told that he was dead before he hit the ground."
Dan is looking to raise €1million for the Dillon Quirke foundation which you can donate to here.
Tipperary and Kilkenny will also meet in a challenge game in Semple Stadium on 19 February as they hope to raise funds for the foundation.
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