Anyone have a sub to copy and paste thisâŚ
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Just giving Sean OâDonoghue a break
The Chinese concept of Wu Wei â which he describes as âthe less you depend on something, the more chance there is of it actually happeningâ â is one that always struck a chord with Cairbre Ă CaireallĂĄin.
The Belfast native was just back from a successful stint as head of strength and conditioning of the Arsenal womenâs soccer team with an FA Cup (2016) under his belt when he had a sense that a call was coming.
He hadnât sought it out having moved home in 2018 and enjoyed his summer break but with things stirring in Tipperary, he âjust had a feeling that, âIâm going to get a call off Liam Sheedy one of these daysââ.
Hurling has always been the first love of the former Antrim minor/U-21 player, but that call from Sheedy didnât arrive until the 11th hour when the opportunity to get involved with the oval ball was also on the table.
Ă CaireallĂĄin met Sheedy, who pulled out a dossier of information about his Premier vision, for the first time in Nenaghâs Abbey Court Hotel and he was âconvinced that Tipp were going to win an All-Ireland that dayâ.
His decision was made and dreams became reality the following August with Ă CaireallĂĄin at the helm of their S&C needs for three years having thrown himself head first into his job by relocating to The Ragg.
âHe loved his time with Tipp and that was clearly reciprocated as Brendan Maher went atop his roof to help fend off an influx of birds into his cottage while the late Dillon Quirke stuck up his chin-up bar.
There was a green wave hanging over Ă CaireallĂĄin while with Tipp, though, and âLimerick had the number on usâ with the UL graduate intrigued by âwhat they are doing thereâ, such was their physicality.
He certainly wasnât alien to the Treaty having worked in the academy before heading for the Gunners, as well as working under Anthony Daly with the minors. His name was always the favourite when a vacancy arose.
Joe OâConnor had overseen the S&C for Limerickâs breakthrough All-Ireland success in 2018 before passing the baton onto Mikey Kiely with the latter departing for Ulster rugby at the end of the 2021 season.
John Kiely didnât have to look any further than Ă CaireallĂĄin but he had big shoes to fill with a much different challenge around the corner as Limerick were top of the tree.
âThings were going well and it wasnât my place to come in and say, âRight, weâre doing this my way or the highwayâ. Things were working well already and itâs about challenging players and keeping things fresh.â
The 35-year-old has total belief in his methods but even he had plenty of doubts during a stuttering league campaign yielding just one victory.
âIâve full confidence in the programme and that itâs all good but another part of you is thinking, âWhatâs going on here? Iâm not getting goingâ,â Ă CaireallĂĄin admits.
âItâs not like we planned to be brutal for a few months and then be flying it for a few months, but you have different challenges throughout the season and itâs just about figuring them out.â
He remembers heading to Thurles for the league final and thinking, âWaterford are flying it, they must be the top team in the country.â But Limerick are champions for a reason.
Ă CaireallĂĄin got another sense on the eve of championship that there was âalmost a sub-conscious thing in the squadâ where they knew what was now required when it really mattered most.
There may have been a lot of nervy moments along the way as their crown was perched precariously at various stages, but the All-Ireland SHC three-in-a-row was secured in another unbeaten championship season.
Thereâs great satisfaction in seeing players like GearĂłid Hegarty and Kyle Hayes hit a peak on the biggest occasion but he is quick to point out that each player has different requirements.
âEverything is a balance in terms of the physical preparation. Sometimes itâs pushing someone or a team to the absolute edge and digging in to find that and then sometimes itâs the opposite. Sometimes, itâs doing a bit less,â Ă CaireallĂĄin says.
Freshness is paramount and while numbers and metrics are central in his line of work, certain aspects of achieving high performance cannot be read on Google Scholar.
âPapers and books can be very black and white when youâre going off numbers but youâre definitely missing something in that. Itâs that personal touch and you can see it in the top managers or coaches,â he says.
âThey know where someone is at by looking at them or chatting to them. Thereâs a big chunk of it that isnât in the textbooks. The emotional development of a player feeds into their performance.â
Kiely, who trusts coach Paul Kinnerk and Ă CaireallĂĄin âto plan and execute the sessionsâ, is a master in knowing whatâs needed and he allows different personalities to flourish.
âTraining can be brutally tough and thereâs no hiding in the training that Paul demands from the players, but every single session theyâre out 10 minutes beforehand doing crossbar challenges like kids.
âThey enjoy it, they have not lost that and training is not a chore, you can see that in how they play. When Iâm taking them off on a Friday before a game, one of the main things that John will always say is, âJust get them laughing here for the next few minutes, just bring a bit of craic into thisâ.
âIâd be getting ideas from PE games, games that should only be for kids. But for five minutes they turn into kids and theyâre laughing their heads off, it works every time. Life gets very serious and play doesnât come into it as much and it has to be in there or you lose sight of whatâs important.â
Being adaptable is âmassiveâ as the best-laid plans can be quickly ripped up if a group is not at their optimum and Kinnerk has no problem saying, âNo, weâve had enoughâ if things are unusually lacklustre.
Ă CaireallĂĄin takes no credit for the Hulk-like physiques of SeĂĄn Finn, Mike Casey and Co shown after their Munster final win, but he does hail the squadâs competitive streak.
âA lot of this is self-driven. I just put it on a plate for them, guide them a bit and then they take ownership of it. I donât need to be telling lads to go hard, Iâve never felt the need to do that,â the St Paulâs clubman says.
âThat competitiveness is embedded in Limerick. Iâm usually trying to take the edge off.â
Bringing energy to the table every night is mandatory for Ă CaireallĂĄin as it helps to set the tone, but being a central cog in the Limerick machine is not something which he envisaged.
You wouldnât think he is by looking at him either. There arenât too many involved in the GAA, Cian Lynch aside, that don an earring let alone the nose ring which Ă CaireallĂĄin does but he is comfortable in his skin.
It runs in the family, as does fluent Irish speaking. His older brother Ainle owns an alternative gym in Cork city (ACLAĂ) while also spending plenty of time in Palestine, where he has set up a gym for refugees in Bethlehem.
Younger sibling Naoise is an award-winning rapper turned playwright best known for his exploits as MoglaĂ Bap in the band Kneecap and Ă CaireallĂĄin also has some unorthodox music tastes.
Music production and electronic DJing â he owns âtonnes of instrumentsâ like guitars, synthesisers and drums â allow him to switch off from the GAA world at the drop of a beat.
Solo backpacking trips to places like Peru and the Amazon jungle have helped to influence his views on the world, but the button is firmly switched on again now having returned from their team holiday.
Cork await tomorrow in their Munster HL opener and Ă CaireallĂĄin will enjoy âthe perfect gigâ as if it is his last, because it could be as a career that has brought successes in Wembley and Croke Park could end soon.
âI donât know if Iâll coach a team ever again, I donât know if itâs something that I want to do when I grow up,â he says with a smile.
âI love it but I donât depend on it. Itâs not my identity. I might just do something totally different and start from scratch. This could be my last year of coaching so Iâm going to enjoy it.â
Bringing the Liam MacCarthy Cup down the Falls Road before Christmas was a âmad experienceâ and, much like Frank Sinatra, he will continue to do things his way.
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Heard he could be back sooner than anticipated.
Ray Dempseyâs army steal a draw and punch their ticket to the McGrath Cup Final 2023.
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Anywhere to stream or listen to Cork-Limerick Dairygold Cup game today?
Munster Gaa website has it for a 10 spot
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Robbers ,canât find it on GAA go etc
Not even on the shagging radio live
Any idea how itâs going? Iâm in an odd place.
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all level coming up to half time
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Score?
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10 Cork 1-7 Lk
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Gent.
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Itâs on Munster GAA sute
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Munster GAA site
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Na ffs,Iâm stuck watching ckare v Cork football
4 points - 8
Tried that on you tube,thanks
Cork in any decent system/state?
Need to feed better quality ball into Shane OâBrien. If he gets it in the paw at all he scores. Joyce is sweeping well in front of him as the extra man.
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to be honest itâs hard to tell boy. thereâs no real intensity to it⌠they seem to be playing a sweeper and lehane is doing wreck in a free role
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