Offaly star Peter Cunningham said there was no way he was going to miss last Sunday’s win over Meath, despite having to cut his honeymoon short.
The Bracknagh man flew out to Rome to marry his fiance, Ruth, after the win over Longford earlier this month with some doubt surrounding whether he would be back for the Leinster quarter-final.
Having stayed in Italy to see out their honeymoon, he and his new wife landed back in Ireland ahead of schedule last Saturday morning and he played a key role from centre-back as Offaly secured a four-point win to set up a Leinster semi-final against Louth at Croke Park on Sunday.
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“She was fairly understanding from the start,” said Cunningham. “It was her that looked up the flight home and she agreed to it. I was happy enough, of course. Thanks a million to her and the boys are delighted as well.
“I wouldn’t miss a day like that. It’s a long time coming and I had a feeling coming in we were going to turn up and, look, we did, thank God.”
Cunningham smiled when quizzed as to how much he actually got to enjoy his honeymoon with the game looming.
“I enjoyed it a small bit, I won’t say too much more! No, other than that, it’s a massive win obviously.
“We said all year with Liam [Kearns], get over Longford and everyone wanted a crack at Meath at home. Everyone knew the support would be out for that game, a massive game for us.
“We should have bet Meath in 2019, we let that one slip and it kind of still hurts a small bit so, look, you could see from the very start, boys were up for it. Boys were confident. Boys know we can compete with these teams and we’re looking forward to getting a crack at Louth next week.
“Everyone wants to play in Croke Park, everyone dreams of playing in Croke Park and the way this team are going, we’re fit, we’re actually fit going up to Croke Park, we’re going to enjoy a big pitch and have a good crack at Louth and we’re going to fancy our chances of a Leinster final.”
Cunningham made his senior debut for Offaly while still a minor back in 2012 and despite Meath’s fading status, it was still his most significant win in Championship football for Offaly.
“That was the biggest game we’ve ever played. In my last 11 years, that’s the best win we’ve got.
“I know you can get League finals and that but I’ve never played in a Leinster semi-final before at senior level.
“I’m looking forward to getting back up to Croke Park so look, it’s a massive achievement for all of us and we’re just happy to be there now.”
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