Poor ol @johnnysachs was like Icarus, he flew too close to the sun
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Liam Cahill better send Eamonn Foudy a Christmas card and a box of chocolates or he would be one and done just like poor auld Bonner
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He was called Boris locally as they could not get rid of him. The poor lad, a legend treated so shabilly. He should have gotten another Carr in with him on the team.
Has anyone access to the full article above that could post it here please. Thanks.
Rating the four contenders vying to be hurling’s top dog
JOHN MULLANE
The final four are putting the finishing touches to their preparations, so what better time to assess the Liam MacCarthy contenders ahead of next week’s All-Ireland semi-finals.
GALWAY
Strengths - The form of Conor Whelan is massive while their backs look settled with Cathal Mannion sweeping up all around him. Henry Shefflin’s squad has the physicality needed to take any team out.
Weaknesses - The worry Tribe folk have is if Whelan is held like he was against the Treaty last year, will they have enough around him to keep the scoreboard ticking over?
Key man - Conor Whelan. Nearly as key as Joe Canning was back in the day. He’s Galway’s go-to guy and if he’s curtailed, they will be in trouble, but his new-found versatility makes him even more unpredictable.
One to watch - Tom Monaghan. I’ve been waiting for him to explode this summer and he finally did last Saturday night. He was excellent against Limerick last year too, so it’ll be interesting to see if Shefflin starts him.
Ranking - 4. Can Galway make the leap to the top of the pile and take out the green machine in the process?
CLARE
Strengths - Clare’s forwards are in spectacular form and they are not over-reliant on Tony Kelly anymore. They have greater panel depth compared to 12 months ago and that’s a necessity with a worrying casualty list while their strength and conditioning has gone to the next level.
Weaknesses - With Conor Cleary out at full-back, and question marks over the availability of John Conlon, Clare’s quest to replace one or both will define their All-Ireland hopes.
Key man - John Conlon. His absence against Kilkenny last year totally upset the Banner and he has been a revelation since Brian Lohan positioned him at No 6. He will rightly go down as one of Clare’s greatest hurlers, especially if he can power them to the holy grail.
One to watch - Shane Meehan. Would have been disgusted with being subbed on and off in the Munster final but he has all the potential to burn it up in Croke Park.
Ranking - 3. A lot of people have them second to Limerick but they’ve yet to sample championship silverware since that 2013 All-Ireland win.
KILKENNY
Strengths - The Croke Park factor really does play in favour of the Cats as it’s like a second home for them. They have solid players in nearly every line, and they don’t come any bigger than Huw Lawlor at No 3. They have killers up front and experience to come in off the bench.
Weaknesses - Will Adrian Mullen recover in time? A Kilkenny team without the scores that he always chips in with definitely dents their All-Ireland hopes. Derek Lyng is also yet to nail down his midfield duo.
Key man - TJ Reid. Will be 36 in November but still the GOAT and as the Leinster final illustrated, he can still come up with big moments when needed most. TJ comes alive in GAA HQ and his aerial ability, as well as deadly free-taking, will be key.
One to watch - Billy Drennan. Their player of the league a few months ago but injury means that he comes in under the radar. He could well be the kitten to light the Cats’ flame.
Ranking - 2. You know exactly what you will get with the Cats, they’re ultra-consistent and so hard to beat.
LIMERICK
Strengths - They still have best spine from 5-12 in the game and it’s that middle third where their opponents will struggle to break them down, even without Declan Hannon. Nickie Quaid’s cool head is even more important than ever as he dictates to a full-back line minus Seán Finn.
Weaknesses - It was near impossible to pick holes before the championship but if they are fragile in any area right now, you’d have to say it’s the full-back line minus Finn.
Key man - Aaron Gillane. He is playing out of his skin and offers something no other Limerick player can as the ‘out ball’ in the full-forward line. Thrives in the wide-open spaces of Croke Park and Limerick will win the four-in-a-row if he keeps firing.
One to Wwatch - Adam English. The impact off the bench has been massive for Limerick under John Kiely and the Doon speedster could help tip the balance in their favour.
Ranking - 1. Still the team to beat and while the immortality of a four-in-a-row beckons, this generational team seems to thrive on pressure.
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GALWAY
Strengths – The form of Conor Whelan is massive while their backs look settled with Cathal Mannion sweeping up all around him. Henry Shefflin’s squad has the physicality needed to take any team out.
Weaknesses – The worry Tribe folk have is if Whelan is held like he was against the Treaty last year, will they have enough around him to keep the scoreboard ticking over?
Key man – Conor Whelan. Nearly as key as Joe Canning was back in the day. He’s Galway’s go-to guy and If he’s curtailed, they will be in trouble, but his new-found versatility makes him even more unpredictable.
One to watch – Tom Monaghan. I’ve been waiting for him to explode this summer and he finally did last Saturday night. He was excellent against Limerick last year too, so it’ll be interesting to see if Shefflin starts him.
Ranking – 4. Can Galway make the leap to the top of the pile and take out the green machine in the process?
CLARE
Strengths – Clare’s forwards are in spectacular form and they are not over-reliant on Tony Kelly anymore. They have greater panel depth compared to 12 months ago and that’s a necessity with a worrying casualty list while their strength and conditioning has gone to the next level.
Weaknesses – With Conor Cleary out at full-back, and question marks over the availability of John Conlon, Clare’s quest to replace one or both will define their All-Ireland hopes.
Key man – John Conlon. His absence against Kilkenny last year totally upset the Banner and he has been a revelation since Brian Lohan positioned him at No 6. He will rightly go down as one of Clare’s greatest hurlers, especially if he can power them to the holy grail.
One to watch – Shane Meehan. Would have been disgusted with being subbed on and off in the Munster final but he has all the potential to burn it up in Croke Park.
Ranking – 3. A lot of people have them second to Limerick but they’ve yet to sample championship silverware since that 2013 All-Ireland win.
KILKENNY
Strengths – The Croke Park factor really does play in favour of the Cats as it’s like a second home for them. They have solid players in nearly every line, and they don’t come any bigger than Huw Lawlor at No 3. They have killers up front and experience to come in off the bench.
Weaknesses – Will Adrian Mullen recover in time? A Kilkenny team without scores that he always chips in with definitely dents their All-Ireland hopes. Derek Lyng is also yet to nail down his midfield duo.
Key man – TJ Reid. Will be 36 in November but still the GOAT and as the Leinster final illustrated, he can still come up with big moments when needed most. TJ comes alive in GAA HQ and his aerial ability, as well as deadly free-taking, will be key.
One to watch – Billy Drennan. Their player of the league a few months ago but injury means that he comes in under the radar. He could well be the kitten to light the Cats’ flame.
Ranking – 2. You know exactly what you will get with the Cats, they’re ultra-consistent and so hard to beat.
LIMERICK
Strengths – They still have best spine from 5-12 in the game and it’s that middle third where their opponents will struggle to break them down, even without Declan Hannon. Nickie Quaid’s cool head is even more important than ever as he dictates to a full-back line minus Seán Finn.
Weaknesses – It was near impossible to pick holes before the championship but if they are fragile in any area right now, you’d have to say it’s the full-back line minus Finn.
Key man – Aaron Gillane. He is playing out of his skin and offers something no other Limerick player can as the ‘out ball’ in the full-forward line. Thrives in the wide-open spaces of Croke Park and Limerick will win four in a row if he keeps firing.
One to watch – Adam English. The impact off the bench has been massive for Limerick under John Kiely and the Doon speedster could help tip the balance in their favour.
Ranking – 1. Still the team to beat and while the immortality of a four-in-a-row beckons, this generational team seem to thrive on pressure.
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How the Jaysis can his one to watch for Clare be Shane Meehan who has seen about 30 minutes of action all year
The management applauded their players off the field. The Limerick management just followed normal protocol, speaking to Seán O’Donnell, their lead performance analyst; leaving the players on their own for four-to-five minutes, as they always do.
The dressing room felt like a furnace but the mood was still cold and calm. Serene. There was no need for any panic; for anxious thoughts or frantic minds. Before John Kiely and the management returned, the players knew what needed to be done to put it right. “One point at a time,” said Pat Ryan, a substitute that day, to the group. “It’s like chopping a tree. Just keep chopping.”
Just seven minutes into the second-half, Limerick had effectively felled the Tipperary oak. Limerick outscored their opponents by 1-10 to 0-1 in the third quarter. By the time Kyle Hayes scored his iconic goal at the outset of the fourth quarter, Tipp had been fried to a cinder. Wiped out.
The ferocity of the inferno deepened Limerick’s mystique, but there was no mystery for the players. It was just normal business. “That’s what this squad has over other squads,” says Barry Hennessy, who retired last year with four All-Irelands. “With the amount of games that we’ve won down the stretch, there is never any panic. It’s process-driven. We have those memories in the bank. We’ve done this before. We know we can do it again. That’s what the lads are still tapping into now.”
Limerick have always had the tools and the personality to reset better than anyone but those demands have been stress-tested to the limit this season. Seán Finn is gone with torn anterior cruciate ligaments. Cian Lynch has been injured again. Declan Hannon is missing for next Saturday. Key players are still not performing at their usual levels. Limerick are not hitting their normal metrics. And yet, they are still winning.
“They’re winning ugly but they’re still winning because they know how to win,” says Hennessy. “They have lost huge players but the squad mentality has always been next man up anyway. Trust the squad. Keep going.”
Similar to Brian Cody with Kilkenny, Kiely has created a culture of calculated instability. Kiely’s teams have been more settled than Cody’s. Only 18 different players have started the four All-Ireland finals this team has won, but Kiely still shares the same philosophy as Cody where nobody feels a jersey belongs to them.
“You look at values like trust,” says Hennessy. “I was involved in Limerick squads in the past when you had 20 lads and the other lads were always just looking in. The lads trust John when he says they will play if they are performing. With the success John has brought, you can’t but trust him. That belief that anyone can play keeps lads hungry. It keeps everyone honest. Every single night lads are emptying themselves. The B team regularly beat the A team. Young lads see opportunity. It all comes back to values. It’s not just fluff. Nobody is untouchable.”
Everything Limerick have built, everything they stand for, is controlled and deliberate, designed to protect against chaos and disruption. Nobody has any right to doubt what they are capable of, but how much is too much?
Limerick’s turnover numbers in their own half have sky-rocketed because teams have gone after them higher up the pitch. Diarmaid Byrnes’ freetaking isn’t bumping up their numbers like it did last year. Limerick aren’t getting off as many shots. When Clare had eight more shots against them in the Munster final, that was the first time Limerick had such a shooting deficit against a top team since Clare dismantled them in the 2018 round robin.
Being able to override those blips has just reaffirmed Limerick’s greatness. They managed without Lynch last year. They won the Munster final without Lynch too, but Hannon’s loss, combined with Finn’s, poses a new challenge, because of the job Hannon does as their leader.
Inspiration is partly defined by what you do but, in greater part, it is defined by how others respond to those actions. “Declan is the calming influence, the quarter-back,” says Hennessy. “He reads the game so well. He knows when to push; when to sit back. His game IQ is top-level stuff. When he’s not on the pitch, it’s not that things get jittery, but things can escalate very quickly. There may be a question mark now with him not being there.”
Next man up. Limerick have a multitude of fluid defensive options. The intensity and precision of Paul Kinnerk’s training sessions is like a firewall to prevent it from shutting down, or being shut down. But it’s still never that straightforward.
When Kilkenny won the four-in-a-row in 2009, they looked untouchable at the outset of the championship, but they needed an outstanding goalkeeping display from PJ Ryan in the final to win the All-Ireland. Kilkenny only played four games that summer. Limerick have already played five. When the wheels eventually came off for Kilkenny in 2010, injuries derailed them.
The last time Limerick were beaten in a knockout championship match, in 2019, Hannon went off injured early. “When Seán got injured, I thought it was going to be a massive blow,” says former player Tom Condon. “Now Declan is gone. The lads who have stepped up have put in a great shift. They are still finding a way to win, but if there is ever a year to catch Limerick, this is probably it.
“This is going to be a real test to see what Limerick are made of. Their toughest test yet, but winning, and having that winning mentality, breeds confidence. They’ve lost big players before. Limerick have dealt with massive obstacles before. They will back themselves to get through it again.”
Now that another huge oak tree is standing in their way again, nothing will change. Chop. Chop. Chop. Limerick will just keep on chopping until another tree is felled along their path to greatness.
It’s an interesting one because lots of good judges are suggesting Barry nash for six but that really weakens us. I don’t think he’s a great six and you lose his distribution from the full back line too. Whatever about replacing hannon we have no player similar in anyway to nash who can play in the corner.
A well managed team will really try and exploit Limerick like Kilkenny did in 2019 in this scenario.
I think it’s very important Nash stays corner back to keep his distribution and keep teams guessing.
It’ll be very interesting what kiely does anyway.
We’d hardly be looking out for an established player ffs
Look at the other ‘one to watch’ picks you bleedin’ tick
Seeing how we struggled with Coughlan at 7 in last 12 minutes if Munster final after Hannon went off should focus the mind.
Can’t see them moving Kyle from 7. Coughlan just isn’t at this level I’m afraid.
You mentioned DOD earlier - he would be a huge loss from midfield as he’s having his best ever season.
One thing limerick are very good at is keeping things wrapped up. We won’t find out until the day probably.
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It’s Kyle
I’d say a lot depends on cian lynch
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This type of question mark over us will bring a focused performance I feel.
David Reidy had his best ever full game for limerick in Munster final - so will start at 11 again
We will need Gearoid and Seamus to have big performances
Deary me
Tom bulling mad that his predictions aren’t worth a fuck.
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Cian Lynch in at 6 is Duignan’s call
Reckon it will be Cian or DOD
Doubt Kiely would make the same mistake as the u21 vs Cork in 2016, . Might be DOD with Cian at midfield(or a bolter such as Adam English)
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