Niall Moran: Limerick missed Currid's emotional disengagement

RTÉ News​

4 hours ago

Former Limerick hurler Niall Moran believes the absence of sports psychologist Caroline Currid from the Treaty set-up in 2025 was costly in their shock All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Dublin on Saturday.
While stating that it can't be deemed the sole reason for Limerick's loss, he did say that her absence can only have weakened them and felt signs of that were evident at Croke Park.
Currid has been involved with All-Ireland winning sides in Tyrone and Dublin, both football, and Tipperary in hurling while she was also involved as John Kiely's side lifted the Liam MacCarthy four times, and was notably absent on the three occasions they missed out since their 2018 breakthrough.
"One loss to the Limerick backroom team over the last two years is Caroline Currid," Moran said on RTÉ's Game On.
"I've never worked directly with her but I do often wonder in situations like that quarter-final and the lead up to it, it wasn't about getting the bodies physically right, it was about getting the mind back to where it needed to be.
"When it came to the fight I thought Limerick looked shot... Cian Lynch was booked for a high tackle, I just looked at him and thought he looked pale.
"I think that has happened every one of us from club level to county level whereby if you're not on it, you get found out. I just think for Limerick that was ultimately the sword they died on."
Moran added that given Limerick's dramatic Munster final loss to Cork on penalties, there was always going to be a mental battle for the Dublin game – and it's one they lost.
"It's the nature of Caroline, you probably are emotionally disengaged because everyone in there, you are so invested emotionally and sometimes you build things up to be bigger than what they are.
"If you have somebody whose emotionally disengaged, who has the ear of people, you see things for what they are, the small things.
"Trust me, I'm not putting it down that if Limerick had Caroline Currid they'd have won that match but I just felt that emotionally it was a very tricky game."
Also speaking on Game On, former Dublin hurler Ryan O'Dwyer agreed with Moran's assessment of the impact Currid can have on a team.
"There seems be a thing when she leaves (that) teams don't meet the high expectations that they've created for themselves.
"I know people are going to say she was with them before they won an All-Ireland, but they were a developing team then. I think she played a massive role (in their success)."
O'Dwyer worked with Currid for a season when hurling for Dublin and he felt her expertise was obvious.
"It's not just about a talk or a speech she gives or anything like that, she structures things in such a way that you can give all your focus, all your energy to hurling.
"She sorts out your life around the game so when you're training you're 100% there, when you're going to a match you're 100% there both in body and mind, emotionally, structurally."