*Limerick manager, John Kiely. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
LIMERICK MANAGER, John Kiely expects Sunday’s Munster hurling final will “bring its own bit of magic”.
In what will be the eighth time Clare and Limerick face off in the Munster senior hurling final, it will be the first since 1955 to take place in the Gaelic Grounds. Their clashes in 1918, 1974, 1981, 1994, 1995 and 2022 were all fixed for Semple Stadium in Thurles.
Kiely’s Limerick are chasing a first ever five in a row in what will be their chance to emulate the Treaty County side of the 1930s.
Reaching the provincial decider is no easy feat, the Limerick boss noted, “It is so competitive, it has probably been the most competitive of the five, the others had their challenges in their own way but it is definitely one where any of the others could have qualified and it came down to the smallest of margins at the end, I’m delighted to have made it”.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the four-time All-Ireland winning senior hurling manager referenced the rivalry between the neighbouring counties. “It is going back a long time, the two counties are so close together and who mingle so much together between schools, colleges, workplaces, it is bound to bring its own bit of magic to it and I’m sure it will be evident from the decibels on Sunday but it promises to be a special day for both sets of players and supporters”.
They met on April 29th at the Gaelic Grounds where Brian Lohan’s Clare emerged with victory. It is an occasion that certainly hasn’t been forgotten by Kiely and his management team which includes Shannon’s Alan Cunningham, Aonghus O’Brien of Broadford and Paul Kinnerk who has strong ties to the Banner County with his father hailing from Doonbeg and his parents living in Cratloe.
“Losing to Clare in the round robin was very disappointing for us and is the blemish in our record in the round robin, they were the better team on the night, they outworked us on the night and they were far more accurate than us on the day, they deserved the result in that game but we learned a lot from them,” he said.
Kiely added, “We break it down to the positives for yourself and the negatives on what you could have done better, we could have worked an awful lot harder, no matter what way we analyse the game we were well outworked on the day, it won’t be good enough on Sunday”.
“We saw the round robin, Clare outworked us in that match by a considerable amount, hence we were chasing the game in the last ten minutes, they were quite comfortable winners, we got a goal but it was a consolation goal, that is the challenge for us on Sunday, we have to find a way of working harder than then across the seventy plus minutes”.
Playing in the Gaelic Grounds is an honour for the provincial final, the secondary school principal maintained. “All of the Munster Finals that have been played here, Cork in 2013 was an incredible day, quite a similar forecast for the day as it was for that game, any Munster final that you play on your home pitch is a fantastic honour and privilege and one that we are looking forward to very much”.
He continued, “Your home ground is your home ground no matter what, we’re very proud of our record here and it means a lot to us. We love training here, we love spending time here and we’re certainly going to look forward to playing a Munster final here”.
Explaining the actions behind the scenes which led to the fixture taking place in Limerick, the Galbally native outlined, “It was a case of they wanted to play in Thurles, Munster Council wanted it in Cork, we were quite happy to go along with that and then the offer was made by the Clare management team to play it in the Gaelic Grounds, between the two County Boards they ironed out an agreement that satisfied both parties, everybody is happy with the fixture now and is looking forward to it, it will be a very special fixture”.
Spectators have been left upset with many missing out on tickets for the keenly anticipated tie. “There’s always going to be people disappointed be it a Munster final or an All-Ireland final no matter when or where you have it but I think what you will find is you will have an even number of people from both counties here on Sunday, the tickets have been split down the middle but you will have a fantastic atmosphere, unfortunately some people won’t be able to make it because of the capacity limitations but the people at home will enjoy it just as much”.
“Sunday is what we’re focused on and what we want, we’ve often spoken about being given opportunities and trying to earn opportunities and give ourselves opportunities, we’ve never set out to win anything as such, we just want to get to a point where you have a chance, get to the final by whatever means and give yourself a chance, hopefully on the day then you get your performance right for that, we’ve worked hard the last four games, I don’t think anybody can deny us the position that we are in because of the challenge we’ve brought off the four teams in the four games and I think our team showed incredible resilience and strength to take on those challenges”.
Though part of the Limerick panel which dethroned Clare in the 1996 Munster championship, Kiely admitted he was wearing a brown leather jacket on the day, something which wouldn’t fit in as part of the current style for extended panellists. “It was a great day, warm and sunny, similar type of weather coming into it”, he reflected.
