Graeme Mulcahy: Virtually empty Croke Park hindered Limerick's performance

Irish Examiner

6 hours ago

Graeme Mulcahy reckons the lack of atmosphere in what he felt was an 'empty' Croke Park, compared to the packed out stadium for the Munster final, played a part in Limerick's demise.
The Shannonsiders are still coming to terms with last Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to a Dublin side that played with 14 men for the majority.
Mulcahy expects a couple of Limerick retirements in the coming months but doesn't view the defeat as the end of an era and reckons that John Kiely and his management team will return in 2026 energised to make amends.
The five-time All-Ireland medallist attributed the relatively flat performance, and ultimate defeat, to starting slowly in an 'empty stadium effectively' and allowing Dublin to generate momentum.
Former attacker Mulcahy, who retired last year, pointed specifically to Aaron Gillane's unlikely wide in the opening minutes from a free as a sign of Limerick perhaps not being fully tuned in.
Speaking ahead of the Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor championship finals, Mulcahy said it has been a few days of 'soul searching' and looking for answers in Limerick.
Former Limerick hurler Graeme Mulcahy pictured ahead of the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship finals. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
"I think trying to come down off a Munster final, a Munster final that will live long in people's memories in terms of the drama, and then going to Croke Park a couple of weeks later, an empty stadium effectively with little or no atmosphere, like, you could hear the referee's whistle echoing around the stadium for the first five, 10 minutes," said Mulcahy.
"It was just a completely different experience for that Limerick team. The whole game felt flat for that first 15, 20 minutes, aside from maybe the bit of intensity that Dublin brought.
"In the first couple of minutes, Aaron Gillane had an easy enough free and it went to Hawk-Eye.
"Whatever little atmosphere was in the stadium was sucked out at that point. I think that really played into Dublin's hands, just allowing them to get a bit of a foothold in the game."
The Dublin/Limerick game preceded the All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final tie between Dublin and Cork. The overall attendance announced for the day was 36,546, well below half the capacity of the stadium.
"I think it can have a massive effect," continued Mulcahy. "Psychologically, if you're not prepared for that and if you haven't spoken about it, it can have a huge effect. I think if that game had come down to Thurles, you would have had probably three times the amount of Limerick fans at the game that were in Croke Park. On the flipside of that, you wouldn't have had as many Dublin fans travel. I think that would have added to giving Limerick an edge, certainly in terms of their performance, that was lacking in Croke Park."
Limerick still had an extra player after the 15th minute dismissal of Chris Crummey though Mulcahy said it felt like the backing of the Dublin fans who came streaming in for the second game as the first game was concluding 'effectively gave Dublin back that 15th man'.
The Kilmallock man said he agreed with the decision to send Crummey off for what was perceived to be a head high challenge on Gearoid Hegarty.
"On a personal level, I would love if he got it overturned and was able to play in an All-Ireland semi-final, but I just don't see it happening," said Mulcahy.
The seven-time Munster medallist reckons that Cork will beat Dublin in their July 5 semi-final and that the Munster champions will 'go on and bridge that 20-year gap' by winning the All-Ireland.
But he insisted that if Dublin can maintain the quality and intensity they showed against Limerick, 'Dublin could easily overturn Cork in that semi-final as well'.
And if Dublin were to beat Cork, Limerick's defeat may be viewed in a different light.
"I think if Cork were to wipe out Dublin completely, then it would feel even more difficult for Limerick, but if Dublin were to go on and overturn Cork as well, and get to the All-Ireland final, I think it would really signal their intent and suggest that there's maybe a new hurling power on the rise."
As for Limerick, Mulcahy rejected talk of the core of their group potentially coming to the end of the line.
"I think people want to see it as an end of an era," he said, pointing to rival counties. "They want Limerick gone away and I just hope that's not the case. I think if they stay unified, like, you'll always lose a couple but I think if they keep the core group together and take the learnings from this year, I think they'll be competitive again next year."