When Tony Keady died suddenly in August of 2017, at just 53 years of age, a whole county mourned, and the rest of Ireland stopped in its tracks to say goodbye to a legend of the game of hurling.
Except Tony Keady was more than a legend.
In 1988, after leading Galway to a second All-Ireland title in succession, he was crowned the greatest hurler in Ireland. He was 25 years of age.
But four years later, and still not yet 30, after being wrongly banned for 12 months by the GAA, he was also discarded by his own county, and refused a maroon jersey the very last time he walked out onto Croke Park behind the Galway team.
The spring before he died, Tony Keady visited Liam Hayes and told him that he wished to tell his whole story. But time tragically was not on Tony's side.
One month after he died Galway won the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1988, and 80,000 people rose from their seats in the sixth minute of the game to applaud and remember a man who was more than a legend.
Tony's wife, Margaret and his daughter Shannon, and his three boys, Anthony, Harry and Jake, have now decided to finish telling the story of a father and a hurler who always asked those around him for '110%.'
Tony's story is told with thanks to his family; Hurler of the Year Joe Canning; his manager, Cyril Farrell, and his teammates and opponents from his playing days.
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