WATCH: Antrim hurler shoots winning point as he wears helmet of late Ryan Straney

Antrim hurler Gerard Walsh paid tribute to road crash victim Ryan Straney in a most fitting way after they beat Wexford at the weekend. 

Walsh cut over a brilliant sideline to seal the win over Wexford in the Leinster Championship at Corrigan Park. 

In a post match interview with BBC Sport, Walsh said he wouldn't be removing his helmet, and with very good reason. 

He said he had bought the helmet from Ryan Straney around six years ago and was leaving it on as a tribute to late Belfast man who was buried at the weekend. 

Mr Straney was killed in a crash on a motorway in Sydney, Australia in recent weeks. 

Saffron hurler Gerard Walsh pays tribute to the late Ryan Straney following Antrim's victory over Wexford at Corrigan Park on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/sXQ3KtoBWh

— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) April 28, 2024

He had just shot over a brilliant sideline cut to win the game for Antrim at the end. 

He told BBC Sport that he was keeping the helmet on as a tribute and to recognise "how precarious and how fragile life is". 

What a point ! Gerard Walsh pic.twitter.com/Inm7SUwRCt

— Sean Kelly (@seankelly2301) April 27, 2024

Ryan Straney, a 27-year-old, from the Upper Springfield Road, died in the collision in Sydney earlier this month.

Requiem Mass took place at St Joseph’s Church, Hannahstown, over the where mourners heard tributes to a “great friend and talented young man”.

Fr Patrick Devlin said Mr Straney’s family were “broken-hearted, confused, angry, extremely sad and bewildered”.

“You have lost a beautiful person in your life and I hope that you have – and take – the type of courage that he had in his life, to live life to the full and to take each day as new and as precious,” Fr Devlin told the congregation.

Mr Straney died in what has been described as a "tragic accident", when a 96-year-old man drove a vehicle south in the northbound lane of Sydney’s M1 Pacific Motorway. 

New South Wales Police launched an investigation into the crash immediately afterwards. 

A former player for Lámh Dhearg, Ryan Straney moved to Australia in recent years. He had been a member of the Antrim senior football team and was also a talented hurler.