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The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘They thought we were finished'- John Kiely hits back at Limerick doubters ahead of Munster final against Cork
WITH Limerick looking primed to get back to where they once belonged, John Kiely believes the calibre of coaching provided by men like Paul Kinnerk has been the driving force behind their remarkable consistency. Since Kiely took the reins in 2017, he and Kinnerk have become the most successful John-and-Paul duo since Lennon and McCartney. 2 Limerick manager John Kiely with the Mick Mackey Cup after the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship final last year 2 Limerick and John Kiely face Cork this weekend in the Munster SHC final The top of the charts is a familiar vantage point for a A record-extending seventh consecutive Munster SHC title is also at stake against 'It's only through good coaching that players are going to improve, be it in their conditioning or their hurling. READ MORE ON GAA "And we've got fantastic coaches who've been involved with the players over the last nine years — just incredible coaches. 'Paul Kinnerk leads the coaching programme and, as we all know, Paul leaves no stone unturned. His attention to detail is unrivalled. 'But most importantly, his innovation in terms of his coaching, in terms of the impact he can make on a game through his coaching over multiple seasons. "I think it can be seen in how our team has developed over the last eight years.' Most read in GAA Hurling While coaching expertise is the mechanism that keeps the Limerick machine functioning so efficiently, affording gifted players like Cian Lynch a licence for individual expression is also a key component. 'Like something out of the French Revolution' - RTE GAA pundit Donal Og Cusack slams Dublin star's reckless swipe Lynch's assist for Adam English's goal in the recent round-robin win over Cork was a moment of magic. But is it something that can be coached? Kiely said: 'No, that's just him. That's just Cian. Being a good coach, sometimes you want to put too much of your own will and shape to everything. 'I think there's also an acknowledgement that good coaching is allowing players to be themselves and bring their natural attributes and skill-sets and flair to the game of hurling — or any game really, for that matter. 'For Cian to be able to do that now at this stage in his career, I think it's brilliant. It reflects well on Paul and all the coaches that a player can express himself on the pitch. 'I think we've all come to expect that Cian has that ability to find a pass and see movement where others can't see it. "It's a joy to watch and all we can do is ensure that the environment encourages that flair. 'And when it doesn't happen, it doesn't come off, there's nobody going to be giving out, 'Why did you do that?' It's a case of on to the next one and try it again.' When their quest for a historic Liam MacCarthy Cup five-in-a-row was foiled by Cork last summer, the likelihood of the result marking the beginning of the end of an era shaped the debates about the future of this Limerick team. Six of their starters against the same opposition last month are now on the far side of 30. Yet they made a mockery of suggestions that the end is nigh by producing one of their most impressive displays to run out 16-point winners. And Kiely cited recently retired Munster rugby ace Peter O'Mahony, who was appointed Ireland captain at the age of 34, as an example of what is possible in the twilight of one's career. He stated: 'We've always done right by the lads medically. If they weren't fit, they didn't play. We've always treated them extremely well that way. That's being borne out now. 'They're really, really strong. I think the support that's there for the players now, it means they can go on for many, many more years than what they would have done 20 years ago even. 'I think you can see that in the professional game of rugby, where players are peaking in their early 30s. Peter O'Mahony is a perfect example. 'I think it's really, really important that we acknowledge that the envelope for players to enjoy it is there. We don't almost pre-empt an earlier than necessary stepping-away from the game. 'We need to make sure that the boys can enjoy the time playing the game that they love. 'I think that's the most important part of it and acknowledging along the way that there are going to be dips in their form, dips in terms of their physical readiness, and we have to try and support them through that the best we can. 'But definitely there are much, much longer careers now. Look at Patrick Horgan, he's a perfect example of it. It's great to see.' Cork ace Horgan, hurling's all-time top scorer, and Kilkenny's TJ Reid are both still going strong, aged 37, at the highest level of the game. Asked if he reckons any of his players could match that longevity, Kiely insisted: 'Absolutely, yeah. Why not? Maybe longer. I think that's all doable.' Now in his ninth season at the helm, Kiely's tenure got off to a relatively inauspicious start. Limerick fell to Kilkenny at the first hurdle in the All-Ireland qualifiers in 2017. After losing their Championship opener to Clare in a Munster semi-final. With the benefit of hindsight, it would be easy to assume that he could already see the glory days on the horizon. After all, the Shannonsiders captured that year's All-Ireland Under-21 title with a team that included seven future All-Stars. ON A LIM But Kiely laughed: 'All I saw coming was a phone call to say, 'Thanks very much' at the end of 2017! I spent four months waiting for the call. 'I'm glad my phone wasn't working, whatever it was, or somebody had the wrong number. That's all I saw coming. 'We knew we had made improvements — of course we did. The impact of the coaching had definitely begun to embed, I suppose. 'On reflection now, you'd have to say that to get a team to a level of performance takes time. "And for people to get to know each other, to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, to embed principles into your coaching and your playing, it takes time. 'We now have a great appreciation of how long that actually takes.' And while the chance to achieve something unprecedented slipped from their grasp at the penultimate stage of last year's Championship. Kiely does not lament the shedding of the additional baggage that they had to carry throughout the journey. He said: 'The first words out of everybody's mouth that you'd meet when you go to the shop or go to the post office or go to Mass — it was almost the first line at Mass. 'So it's definitely no harm that it's finished with. 'It would have been lovely to do it, of course it would, but such is sport and we move on to the next challenge and we don't look back very much at all. 'You have to embrace the hurt, you have to embrace the disappointment and you have to try and make yourself better. 'Definitely 2024 is in the rear-view mirror.'
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Carlow overcome Westmeath in Joe McDonagh Cup thriller while Down secure relegation lifeline vs Kerry
CARLOW will travel to Laois next weekend with their fate in their own hands in the Joe McDonagh Cup after overcoming WESTMEATH 7-23 to 4-22 in Mullingar yesterday. The Barrowsiders had stormed into the break with an 18-point lead and would go on to stretch their advantage with another Marty Kavanagh goal in the first minute of the second half. The Lake County took over in the rest of the third quarter, outscoring the visitors by 2-13 to 0-3 before James Doyle and Fiachra Fitzpatrick added green flags to see out the win, with Kavanagh hitting 3-12. Meanwhile, in Ballycran, DOWN secured themselves a lifeline in their battle against the drop with a 2-26 to 2-19 victory over KERRY. And DERRY laid down a marker in the Christy Ring Cup after they swept WICKLOW aside 2-30 to 1-13 at Celtic Park. The emphatic win ensured top spot in the table for the Oak Leafers, and a Croke Park showdown against LONDON. Read More On GAA The Londoners booked their place in the final with a 4-20 to 1-13 win over already-relegated TYRONE at McGovern Park in Ruislip, with Conor O'Carroll — who hit 2-3 — and Sean Glynn, with 1-4, leading the scoring. In Trim, DONEGAL and MEATH played out a dead rubber with Mickey McCann's men edging past the Royal County 0-28 to 3-14. In the Nickey Rackard Cup, FERMANAGH got their first point of the season with a 1-22 to 3-16 draw against MAYO, who have already booked their place in the final. The men in green and red will meet ROSCOMMON in the decider after goals from Brendan Mulry and Seán Canning saw the Rossies come from behind to beat LOUTH 4-17 to 0-20. Most read in GAA Hurling Had the Wee County held on, it would have been ARMAGH in the June 1 final, thanks to the Orchard's 0-23 to 3-13 win over SLIGO in Tubercurry. In the Lory Meaghar Cup, finalists CAVAN rested players in their 2-15 to 1-10 loss to LEITRIM at Breffni Park, LANCASHIRE beat WARWICKSHIRE 0-26 to 4-13 in Birmingham, and MONAGHAN drew 2-20 to 2-20 with LONGFORD in Inniskeen to secure a semi-final clash against NEW YORK next Saturday. 1 Fiachra Fitzpatrick and Donagh Murphy of Carlow during a March Allianz Hurling League Division 1B match Dublin GAA legends reunite in Germany after taking part in gruelling sporting phenomenon
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
New hurling chief Willie Maher vows to make hurling a truly national game as he targets northern expansion
New hurling chief Willie Maher says expanding the game's profile in the northern half of the island is his 'north star' The former Laois senior boss said: "That's what we are working towards." 2 GAA National Head of Hurling William Maher is aiming to expand hurling across the country of Ireland 2 He is committed to a long-term plan of increasing underage participation, especially in counties where the game isn't number one But it's a mammoth task for the Maher acknowledged that in some cases where football rules the roost, he'll be battling 100 years of tradition. Maher won All-Ireland minor hurling titles as a player and manager with Tipp and is committed to a long-term plan of increasing underage participation. Fundamental to this is the establishment of new hurling clubs with 45 of these already up and running. There are five new clubs in Munster, five in Connacht, 18 in Leinster and 17 in Ulster. read more on gaa Maher noted: "The first step in any of these processes is getting more kids playing the game." Speaking at a Croke Park press briefing, he displayed a graphic with a map of Ireland showing existing hurling clubs with white dots. Concentration levels are high from Munster upwards until you cross a line between Dublin and Galway, after which there are far fewer clubs. Maher said this picture must improve and revealed: "That's the north star. That's what we are working towards. If that's even in participation numbers, that would be a major impact. Most read in GAA Hurling "Are we going to get counties to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup here in Croke Park in the next 10 or 20 years? Probably not. "But at the same time, how can we get more players playing the game? Then we can start thinking about things like that. That would be the dream. Oisin McConville urges GAA to ditch big rule change mid-season after controversial ending to Championship clash "I think hurling hasn't really moved outside its traditional boundaries in 100 years so it's important to try to broaden that out without trying to impose it on GAA clubs up the country. "It's to give kids the opportunity. We want to work with people to actually hold people in clubs to account, yes, but at the same time to give kids the opportunity to play our national game." A schoolteacher by profession, Burns said that he and camogie President Brian Molloy would like hurling to be on 'every single curriculum in every national school in Ireland'. Burns said: "That's not an unreasonable thing. That's something that we are going to work with camogie to try to achieve. I think that would be massive. "The second thing that he said is that we need to move away from this concept that in order to master the skills of hurling, you need to almost be born with a hurl in the pram. "That you need to take it everywhere, that it's an extension of your arm. That is true of the best hurlers we have. "But that doesn't mean to say that when you reach the age of 10, 12, 13, that you shouldn't be able to take the game of hurling and master it and become a really good player." SUPPORT GROUP Maher said this sort of back-up from central GAA, and the support of the various committees and coaching departments, is vital for success in his position as national hurling chief. Maher said: "I think there's a big difference there as regards from before. This is not an operational role and this is not a travelling the highways and byways of the country and developing coaching courses. "Yes, I'll be going out there. Yes, I'll be getting my hands dirty as regards all of that and meeting people. But I think it's giving them the tools to actually promote and develop hurling with their communities." Maher will spread his message throughout the country during seven different roadshows across all four provinces during May and June.
