THE parents of a toddler featured in a picture taken during the All-Ireland hurling senior semi-final at Croke Park have spoken of their joy after the striking image went viral on social media.
The picture was taken by photographer James Crombie and shows two-year-old Fionn McGivern standing in a stadium stairway beside fans watching the action on the pitch as Kilkenny took on Clare.
The image of the youngster, who was wearing a Kilkenny top, went viral after it was posted to Twitter on Sunday, with over 3 million views and more than 11,000 'likes'.
The Belfast Telegraph reported how his father Brendan was thrilled to see the snap circulating online after the Kilkenny family had celebrated their county's win.
“It was incredible, the past few days everyone has been texting and ringing about it, it’s a good feeling, it’s a class picture, you are never going to get a shot like that again,” he said of the image, which was taken on Fionn's first ever trip to Dublin's Croke Park.
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“He loves going to the matches, just loves every minute of it. This was his first time at Croke Park but I take him to matches around home all the time, he watches with his sister and his auntie and uncles,” Brendan said, adding that Fionn's sister Molly, aged 11, is a keen camogie and football player herself.
"She’s away at training most nights of the week," Brendan said.
“Fionn is mad about it all, from the minute he wakes up he is saying to me ‘ball’ so we are always playing football or hurling. He’s just fantastic, he’s well clued in, especially because he’s just two, none of my friends can get over him.
He added of his son: “He’s a big supporter now, so I’d say he will keep going that way, I can’t see him not being a fan when he’s older, we all support them together."
