‘It felt like time stopped’ when Dillon Quirke died says Timmy Hammersley

The clock keeps on ticking and soon it will be a year since Dillon Quirke passed on. Time stood still for a few days after the Tipperary hurler died near the goals on the Davin Terrace side Semple Stadium.

The lives of those in Clonoulty and those who knew Dillon changed forever one year ago. It impacted not just the players, but his family, the people of the village, and beyond as so many suffered.

The community rallied and they relied on each other. It went to the core of life in the area. It was a surreal time according to Timmy Hammersley: “You have to remind yourself sometimes and wonder what happened. It is hard to describe the sense of sadness, particularly in the few days just after. It happened on that Friday and I came down home that night.

“It was a deep sadness and a deep trauma. You could feel it in the air. Even if you weren’t around people. Even if you went for a walk and you saw no one.

“Things felt very different. It was in the air. It was the reality of our small village. Everyone is connected in some way. It impacted people deeply that you wouldn’t have even thought about.

“I remember the morning after I met my cousin David Egan over in a shop and we just cried together. Me and my other half, Laura, left Dublin I’d say around 12am that Friday to come home, and it just felt like the longest journey. It went on and on. It felt like time stopped.

“I remember going into the family home that night and James Heffernan and Padraig Heffernan were there, Thomas Butler and Niall Shanahan and my family were there and we were different people for a time.

“People suffered such a loss and people supported each other and showed such emotion in a way that they never did before and may never do again. Special things happened as well.

“I feel a closeness developed and it rubbed off on the hurling team; they are all closer units from it as well. That may be philosophical or people might not grasp it, but that was my experience,” said Timmy.

The players on the field that sad evening, and all who hurled with and knew Dillon as a friend over the years, still bear the scars inside. One of those who trained, hurled and laughed with Dillon Quirke was Timmy Hammersley.

Both of them played key roles in Clonoulty’s last county triumph in 2018. Timmy now lives and hurls in Dublin with Ballyboden St Enda’s but his old comrade is always close: “He meant a lot to me. He was one of those lads you soldiered with. I like the quote ‘You play with many but you soldier with few’.

“What is a soldier like? It is someone who goes to the well with you. Training is a big part of my identity. It is a big part of my life. I train morning, noon and night.

“I loved going off training with Dillon when you’d be wanting to get up at half six for a gym session and others would think you are mad but he’d go straight down there. He would go at any time.

“When we were training together, the two of us wouldn’t leave until we were absolutely fit to collapse.
“Not everyone has that same headspace, and I’m not saying that everyone should have it, but you have a special bond with someone who does.

“We did our training together, be it early morning running together or tough gym sessions. I remember vividly when we were training up in Clonoulty one evening in the summer and we were doing a tackling drill.

“He would know that if he was going in one on one with me he was going to feel a bit of intensity; and going in against him I would have been thinking ‘he’s bigger than me and stronger than me but he is going to feel it too’.

“Within a minute of the drill we were on the ground busting each other open! But an hour later we were walking out the gate shaking hands and friends again. People don’t get that at times but if you are really deep about sport you get that,” says Timmy when we talked this week.

Timmy is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and when we talk, the honesty and genuineness of the conversation is powerful. Throughout the conversation, it came across to me that Dillon was somebody that Timmy simply adored. He paints a picture of a rare kind of person, a lover of life and a presence that made connections with others easily.

Timmy admires the graft and appreciation for the moment that Dillon had when it came to hurling and to everyday life:
“I heard commentary after he died that he was destined for stardom but no one is. He was very good and he worked very hard. I know how hard he worked. Another reason I loved him so much is that even when he made the Tipp team, his innocence was always there.

“What I mean by that is that I have an image of him as a young fella as an innocent, genuine boy walking around with his hurley and his ball on the pitch. I kinda feel like he was still that young fella.

“He never lost that boyish attitude and that is what made him so wonderful. That is what made him such a gentleman. Even though he was doing so well on and off the pitch he still had that genuineness about him and I believe that sometimes as we grow older than teenagers and young adults, we kind of lose what makes us really wonderful as well.

“We become cynical. But he always kept that genuine attitude and they are the words I use to describe him. Really genuine about what he does, and that is what made him really admirable in my opinion.

“He didn’t change when he made it with Tipp. He was the same person he always was. He’d pop into my mind every so often. Any time I feel sorry for myself or I start worrying or getting upset about stuff you think is important but is not really important.

“I think he is a great reminder to keep you on track in your own life. To stay on track and believe in yourself and believe in other people. Any problem I overthink - I think he’d love to have that problem!

“I won’t lie, I use him for inspiration in my own life. I try to learn from him what he taught us in his short life. I know it sounds a little bit selfish but that’s what I think about. I think of him for inspiration.”

Timmy now resides in Dublin. He works as a Coach and Player Development Manager with Ballyboden St Enda’s. He hurls with them too and has built a life for himself in the ‘big smoke’. Yet, as with anyone who transfers from one GAA club to another, the savage loves his native shore.

The 2010 All-Ireland medalist with Tipperary gave 18 years wearing the Clonoulty/Rossmore jersey in the senior hurling championship. Timmy’s perspective has changed over the years. Many of his former teammates were on the side of Semple Stadium when Dillon lay his head down a year ago.

He knows what a loss Dillon was to his teammates and now sees his former team from the outside: “Look, on and off the pitch they have done themselves proud. They have really given it everything. They have upheld themselves so well.

“I think that is a fair comment. Just in how they carry themselves, they are a very respectful group, and a good group to be around. They have a great outlook about the game and about life in general.

“I would say what has happened has made them stronger people as well. Sometimes tragedies can have that impact.”

Since the Tipperary hurler passed away, the Dillon Quirke Foundation has been set up by his family with the aim of screening young girls and boys for heart conditions at a young age.

Timmy Hammersley says great work has been done so far: “They decided to take on this and the family are determined to keep his name alive and to use it for a good cause. It is really admirable what they are doing and it brings people together.”

The name of Dillon Quirke will outlive many others from these times in a similar way that former All-Ireland winner Tony Brennan’s name did. Tony was a hero to many girls and boys of a different era in Clonoulty, and the full back on the Tipperary team of the century died in a shooting accident relatively young as well.

Even though he hurled in the 1940s, he is still remembered. Some names are never forgotten.