In Pictures: Warm welcome and huge crowd as Portlaoise GAA celebrate the incredible Zach Tuohy

Portlaoise GAA Club hosted a “Welcome Home” event in honour of 2022 AFL Premiership winner Zach Tuohy last night.

Lilly’s Pub on Main Street in Portlaoise was the venue as people came from far and wide to share in a brilliant night.

The Geelong Cats player was part of the team that won the AFL Grand Final at the end of September.

He became just the second Irish player to lift the title and it caps what has been a remarkable career Down Under thus far.

Thirteen years after he left Ireland to take up a rookie contract and 15 years after he was first spotted by scouts, Tuohy landed the biggest prize in the game, and is a genuine star in Australia.

Geelong were massive 133-52 winners in a one-sided final played in front of over 100,000 spectators in the famed MCG stadium.

It was their first final success since 2011 and only their ninth overall.

A wonderful video was also published on the night where stars past and present paid tribute to Zach.

Cahir Healy, Pat Spillane, Joe Kernan, Mick Conlan, Liam Griffin, Oisín McConville, Pádraic Joyce, Willie Hyland, Conor Murray, Nigel Lappin, Jim Gavin, Conor Meyler, Bernard Flynn, Colm Begley, Joe Brolly and Mattie Donnelly all spoke.

While popular band The Coronas also paid tribute to Zach in what was a very moving series of clips.

Our photographer Denis Byrne was present at the event last night and captured some great pictures.

You can check them, and the tribute video, out below:

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