Eir has been unveiled as an official sponsor of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship in a new five-year partnership.
Hurling stars from across the country were present to launch the sponsorship at Croke Park today, including Waterford's Austin Gleeson.
The partnership will begin in 2023 and will run for five years ?https://t.co/NzEjy2agqW
— Pundit Arena (@PunditArena) November 30, 2022
Speaking at the launch, Gleeson was asked about his early impressions of new Déise boss Davy Fitzgerald: "Very, very good to be honest with you.
"He's all about the players and wanting the best for us. He's emphasizing that as quickly as he can.
"He's basically saying if we listen to him, and repay him, god knows where it could lead us!
"Look, at the end of the day, our main aim is to get out of Munster - we haven't got out of Munster in this new round-robin yet.
"That's the biggest thing, he wants to win every game he plays."
Austin Gleeson is still trying to get to the bottom of what went wrong for Waterford in a year so many expected them to challenge at the top. https://t.co/hrflVvouw5
— Paul Dollery (@PaulDollery) December 1, 2022
Gleeson is a former hurler of the year and is anticipating a big statement from Fitzgerald: "No matter what the outside perception is, he's a winner" said Gleeson.
"He's had success in every county he's went to. Even when he was with Waterford for the first year he got them to a first All-Ireland final since 1963.
"He went down to Wexford and won Leinster, he won an All-Ireland with Clare."
Since the inception of the Munster Hurling round-robin, the Déise have been on the losing side in the vast majority of their outings.
In total, Waterford have played 12 fixtures, winning a solitary outing against an injury-stricken Tipperary in Walsh park this Summer.
Even more astonishing, when considering the wealth of talent available, the Munster men have not left the province on three separate attempts.
With the expected redevelopment of Walsh Park to be completed for next year's Championship, all eyes will be on this talented crop who are yet to fulfil its massive potential.
