That must be the first time anyone described Breheny as āastuteā on here
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Ah theres no debate in fairness. Cody wins it hands down. Id say Ger Loughnane would be a bit put out though
NCW fairly thumped Claughaun and will face Caseyās to see who gets the bye to the semi-final. The winner of Claughaun v Monaleen will take the remaining quarter-final slot.
Maybe at the end but we still played way more of the football, just couldnāt finish. Gaels only hit 4 wides Iād say, we missed 20+. Which just isnāt good enough at this level. Hit the woodwork four times just so many goal chances not converted.
Should have been out of sight at half-time, instead we had to dig very deep to get the draw. Even at the end, we probably should have won it, just werenāt composed enough.
Nash was excellent again, Paudi Hartigan really good. We managed the Childs well enough but they were still a handful and managed a few scores. Conor McGrath at midfield was lively, Zach McCarthy got a couple of points in the first half.
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Where does this leave KP group wise?
The draw keeps hopes well-and-truly alive.
Regardless of Kieranās vs Ballysteen tomorrow, Kieranās and Adare are already through and Ballylanders are bottom.
Ourselves and GG are on 3 points, Ballysteen are on 2, will go to 4 if they beat Kieranās.
Either way, we have to win against Ballysteen to stay ahead of them.
GG play Ballylanders in the last game, Ballylanders with nothing to play for. GG are currently 19 points worse-off than us score difference wise.
So itās in our hands, but weāll have a tough job to beat Ballysteen.
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Kevin Keegan GIF incomingā¦
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We need to get something tomorrow now to set up a serious final day showdown.
Ballylanders are in the relegation now regardless so Gaels will probably get the win they need there, although I believe there is no love lost between the two clubs.
Have to beat Kierans tomorrow now. Even a draw wonāt do
Itās a great championship. Every match on the last day will have something riding on it.
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The fixture makers got it spot on to be fair to them. Top two in each group on the last day
What?
Breheny knows the score sees right through the hall of fakers, 57 years without retaining Liam says it all.
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Ye are motoring nicely now
Good win tonight.
All eyes on the hurling Thursday night now.
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Thatās what you need,every game should matter in championship.
From Maurice Brosnan in The42
One last time - oh Billy Lee is magic, he wears a magic hatā¦
LAST WEEK THE Limerick players sat down with Billy Lee for one final throw of the kitchen sink. They knew what was coming, they saw it advancing down the tracks during the year, but they were willing to lie down in front of the train if it meant he would stay.
Lee was one of the longest-serving managers in Gaelic football before he officially stood down on Tuesday. Joint-captain Iain Corbett was there when they were trying to convince him to remain. That process gave the squad a valuable insight into why he was walking away.
āIt was 100% unanimous wanting him to stay. The squad was very aware of the work Billy was doing for us.
āThen at the same time, you think it is evident but from speaking to Billy as we were trying to convince him, it is only then you realise the number of hours he put in. It is far beyond what you would ever appreciate.
āDealing with every single part of it. Even I saw the Limerick minor manager thanking him because he came in to speak to them a few times. He was invested in everything. I suppose eventually, all that work caught up with him.ā
He took the gig when nobody else would. In 2016, John Brudair stood down with the side at a low ebb, without a Munster Championship win since 2012 and relegated to Division 4. Lee was on the committee to appoint a successor. They soon turned to him and offered the role.
So he accepted the challenge. He embraced it.
āThe big thing Billy fixed was the environment,ā explains former Limerick footballer and current PPS development officer Pa Ranahan. āI know that sounds vague and broad.
āBut Billy was so accommodating. It became a place where people wanted to be, rather than somewhere they felt like they needed to be. Bit by bit, he created a family environment.
āIn Limerick, it has to operate like a big club. I walk around the city now and see the likes of Adrian Enright and Colm McSweeney friendly outside of training. He created a bond, we are all in this together basically. I think it was an issue for a few years, lads didnāt know each other.ā
The group needed drastic moulding, mentally and physically. In the early days, Cork All-Ireland winner Paudie Kissane came on board as a trainer, but at times it felt like a quantum leap. The group wasnāt ready for any immediate expectation of high standards. They needed to be encouraged. Repaired, rebuilt. Brick by brick.
In order to do that he required local people, who knew the lay of the land and how to navigate it. Kilmallock native Adrian OāBrien was recruited for strength and performance. Lee was always more than a manager and OāBrien was more than an S&C coach. He got to know the players and their lifestyles. Who they are and what they did. Then he gave them bespoke programmes based on that.
Meanwhile, Lee was always in their corner. After a ten-point loss against Clare in 2018, he took aim at the county board because a player wasnāt registered for the championship tie and the squad werenāt fed after a training session in the build-up.
āHe was very fair to everyone. Always on our side,ā says Corbett.
āYou could see him fighting for us like he did in 2018. His passion for Limerick football was always reflected when he was speaking.ā
Former inter-county goalkeeper and U20 manager Seamus OāDonnell was a member of the backroom team under Lee. Like much of the ticket, he is typically self-effacing. Quick to praise the manager while downplaying his own input.
āIād be a messer in training. Just joking around or whatever, but heād never put a stop to that. Billy helped make it a fun atmosphere. A good place to be. Weād some great results but some of my best memories are the craic around training or nights like that. He trusted the group to get serious when we needed to work, and they did in fairness.ā
Things started to turn. In 2020, they won the McGrath Cup, the Division 4 league title, and were the width of the post away from the Munster final. By 2022 theyād secured a place in Division 2 and reached a Munster final.
It wasnāt plain sailing off the field, far from it. Crucially, at the helm the message never changed. In order to to be the best they can be, they needed to control what they could and filter out the rest. Difficulty sourcing a training field was never over-emphasised because complaints werenāt going to suddenly manifest a floodlit pitch and such negativity can fester.
āBilly always thought about the greater good,ā OāDonnell explains.
āSome of us might let loose and say we need to do this or change that. Heād stay calm in meetings. Never making a rash decision or anything, his eyes were 100% fixed on what is best for Limerick.ā
The county has no shortage of quality coaches and a 2023 league campaign alongside the likes of Dublin and Derry makes it an attractive job with interest in and outside the county. The biggest challenge for any successor is commanding the dressing room and convincing people to help the cause the same way Lee did. With unflappable level-headedness.
It kept the county stable. He made mountains look like molehills. If asked in interviews about playing second fiddle to the giant that is hurling or the small support, heād immediately flip it and speak about the passion of the following that was there.
Ranahan writes a column on Limerick football and a few years ago, he addressed the venue situation. His point was that they needed a home. In one three-year period, they played in seven different grounds. That week he bumped into Lee and the article came up.
āHe was there, ālook it is not a big deal.ā I donāt know if he thought it wasnāt a big deal or didnāt want to make it a big deal! For him, it was as if it was a waste of energy. Focus on what you can control.
āI still think I was right. You need a fortress, your own spot. But his view was I canāt control it, I wonāt worry about it. No big deal. Iāll focus on the stuff that I can fix. He was so good at that when we needed it. There was so much wrong, you could throw your hat at it and walk away.ā
For OāDonnell, the one takeaway from working with Limerick in recent years is that the only possible way to be an intercounty manager is to be retired or take a career break. Work circumstances forced Leeās departure. He was trying to give everything to two full-time jobs. It wasnāt sustainable.
āI canāt tell you how many times weād start a Zoom session to pick a team or whatever and Billy would say at the start, ālads 40 minutes and weāre done.ā 80 minutes later, weāre still talking.ā
The statement confirming his departure was true to him. A significant move was announced with as little fuss as possible. There were quoted tributes from the county board and football development committee chairperson.
None from Lee other than a note of thanks to the media. He also expressed gratitude to his family, the management team, players, county board, committee and supporters. The entire Limerick football tribe, he did it for them.
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Ah lads, make an argument without using Breheny ye dopes