Thurles skipper Jimmy Ryan hailed his team do-or-die spirit after the Tipperary kingpins edged out Royal Curragh 3-2 in a thriller to lift the AIG Pierce Purcell Shield for the second time in three years at Carton House.

The final was tantalisingly tied at 2-2 when Stephen Quigley and Martin Fahy came back from two down with six to play, making a gutsy five at the O’Meara Course’s tough 18th to beat Brenny Murphy and Martin Dempsey by one hole.

On a day when Garth McGimpsey made a losing return to AIG Senior Cup action for Royal Portrush, 28 years after his last appearance

Thurles will now be hoping to become the first club to win the event for the third time in four years when they host next year’s AIG Cups and Shields Finals.

“I'm still not right, my heart is thumping at 100 to the gallon at the moment," said Ryan with a grin after Fahy pitched to 30 feet and Quigley lagged the putt to gimme distance before watching Murphy miss a five-footer that would have taken the final up the 19th.

“We were dead and buried for a long time but these boys, their battling qualities are something else. 

"They know nothing else but battle, battle all day long, and they proved in the semi-final as well.

“I’m just delighted. It means a lot to Thurles because we’re hosting the competition next year. It means an awful lot to the club, and it’s great to be going back as All-Ireland champions. The only thing in Tipperary that came back this year!”

The win meant a third AIG Purcell Shield success for the club and for 1997 winner Tommy Quigley, who partnered son Shane to victory in the top match before watching his other son, Stephen, play a major role in Thurles’ title-winning final pairing.

“This is what it's all about. I am stuck at work all day, driving a forklift for Bord Na Mona,” said Quigley Snr (59).   “So it's lovely to have a bunch of lads and go away to play golf.

“You never get a father and a couple of sons playing on the same team. There are very few games where you can do that.”

In the AIG Senior Cup, Galway will have an opportunity to ease the pain of their third successive Barton Shield defeat on Thursday when they face Limerick in the AIG Senior Cup final.

The Connacht champions beat Royal Portrush 3.5-1.5 as Limerick crushed Carton House’s hopes of a home win when Ciaran Vaughan beat Sean O’Connor by two holes to secure a 3-2 victory.

Fourteen-time championship winner McGimpsey (62), was making his first Senior Cup appearance since Woodbrook in 1989. 

But it was an unhappy return as he lost 3 and 2 to Liam Nolan as Joe Lyons one-hole win over Matt McAlpin got Galway over the line.

“I think I will be involved next year, but I probably won’t be playing,” McGimpsey said. “There are two or three young kids who could be in the squad. Tyrone Clarke being one of them. He’s a very good player.”

Lyons feared his troops would struggle to recover from their Barton Shield loss to Warrenpoint but now believes they can go all the way.

“Nothing less than a win tomorrow will sate the appetite at this stage now,” Lyons said.

“If we'd have played in the Barton Shield final as we played in the semi-final we'd have run away with it. So I suspect if we turn up for the final we'll take some beating.”

Vaughan (18) holed a 15 footer for a crucial half at the 16th, then won the last two holes to put himself in position to match his father, Ger, as a Senior Cup winner today.

“My dad is team captain, and he was part of the team that won our last Senior Cup in 2002,” Vaughan said. “So it would be pretty special to get the win with him as team captain.”

In the Jimmy Bruen Shield semi-finals, Warrenpoint beat Mountrath 3.5-1.5 as Castlebar’s Tom Moylett and Mark Corrigan birdied the 19th in the decisive match to give them a 3-2 win over Ballykisteen.

AIG Cups and Shields Finals, Carton House (O'Meara Course)

AIG Pierce Purcell Shield

Final

Thurles 3 Royal Curragh 2 (Thurles names first)

1. Tommy Quigley & Shane Quigley beat Martin Whitty & Bill Geraghty 4&3;
2. Pat Coote & Johnny Nevin lost to Eddie Trant & Jimmy Murphy 2&1;
3. John Looby & Gerard Maguire beat Michael Cleary & Brendan Mullins 1 hole;
4. Adrian O’Keefe & John Dwan lost to Anthony Ryan & Thomas Powell 2 holes;
5. Stephen Quigley & Martin Fahy beat Brenny Murphy & Paul Dempsey 1 hole

AIG Senior Cup

Semi-Finals

Galway 3.5 Royal Portrush 1.5 (Galway names first)

1. Luke O’Neill beat Mark McMurray 3&2;
2. Ronan Mullarney lost to Andrew Morris by 1 hole;
3. Joe Lyons beat Matt McAlpin by 1 hole;
4. Liam Nolan beat G McGimpsey 3&2;
5. Liam Power halved with Jamie Knipe

Limerick 3 Carton House 2 (Limerick names first)

1. Owen O’Brien beat Des Morgan 2&1;
2. Sean Poucher lost to Jack Doherty 2&1;
3. Ciaran Vaughan beat Sean O’Connor 2 holes;
4. Michael Reddan lost to Gary McDermott 4&3;
5. Justin Kehoe beat Colin Cunningham 4&2.

AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield

Semi-Finals

Warrenpoint 3.5 Mountrath 1.5 (Warrenpoint names first)

1. Rian Carvill & John Murray beat James Coss & Michael Brennan 5&3;
2. Gerard Durkin & Shane Carr beat Martin Carroll & Paul Darling 1 hole;
3. Hudson McGuffin & Barry Laverty beat Joseph Carroll & Colin Bergin 2&1;
4. Stanley Weir & Eoin Durkin halved with Pascal Dunphy & Matthew Motts;
5. Raymond Duffin & Eamon Rooney lost to Martin Gaughan & Aidan Manicle 3&2

Castlebar 3 Ballykisteen 2 (Castlebar names first)

1. Shane Rice & Tommy Lawless lost to Olly Hodges & PJ Carey 4&3;
2. Shane Quigley & Johan Collins lost to David Cartlidge & Sean Calvert 1 hole;
3. Paddy Burke & Ray Prendergast beat Liam Downey & Gavin Downey 5&3;
4. Tom Moylett & Mark Corrigan beat Alan Murphy & Denis O’Brien 19th;
5. Kieran Horkan & Colin Dawson beat Mick Kennedy & James Nolan 2&1.

Saturday 23 September

AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield

Final

9.00am Warrenpoint v Castlebar (Warrenpoint names first)

1. Rian Carvill & John Murray v Shane Quigley & Johan Collins;
2. Gerard Durkin & Shane Carr v Kieran Horkan & Colin Dawson;
3. Hudson McGuffin & Barry Laverty v Michael Kilcourse & Dave Walsh;
4. Stanley Weir & Eoin Durkin v Tom Moylett & Mark Corrigan;
5. Raymond Duffin & Eamon Rooney v Paddy Burke & Ray Prendergast

AIG Senior Cup

Final

10.30am Galway v Limerick (Galway names first)

1. Liam Power v Owen O’Brien;
2. Joe Lyons v Sean Poucher;
3. Liam Nolan v Ciaran Vaughan;
4. Ronan Mullarney v Michael Reddan;
5. Luke O’Neill v Justin Kehoe.