Andrew Shore made his return to inter-county hurling last weekend…
Shore returned to action in the purple and gold last weekend, when the Yellowbellies overcame Kilkenny by twelve points in the Walsh Cup semi-final in Callan.
An anterior cruciate ligament injury, followed by a shoulder injury, temporarily derailed Shore’s hurling career. He went on a different path and he picked up a job in the finance sector in Spain, and he was primarily based there for the past three years.
But it was watching Wexford’s 2019 success in the Leinster final from the same location in Spain, that whet the apetite for a return to Ireland:
“I made that decision (to stay in Spain rather than travelling home for the game) and I would say it would have been tougher if I had been here.
“Obviously I was absolutely delighted for the lads, but it was fairly hard to watch as well, just on a personal level.
“That’s kind of why I decided to come back. If I hadn’t that feeling, I probably wouldn’t have come back. If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t have been right.
“But just seeing the lads and the success they had last year and what seemed to be the unbelievable quality that they had in the set-up, I just thought I would try and get back in, so that’s what I came home for,” Shore said to the Irish Independent.
In fact, his desire was so strong to return to the panel, that he actually picked up the phone to ask the Wexford manager for his place back in the squad.
“He’s a fair man and anyone who was involved in any set-up with him will tell you that he’ll give you a fair crack, so I knew he was approachable and I was just delighted to get a go.”
Now aged 30, Shore made his return to the Wexford Senior team where he was named at full-forward in Wexford’s defeat to Kilkenny, getting 70-minutes of competitive hurling under his belt. Shore, who was once a pivotal player in the Wexford hurling team, will be hoping to return to those similar heights.
Photo: Noel Reddy, Wexford GAA
