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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I'd question John Kiely's approach to Munster and All-Ireland with Limerick – and whether he will be manager in 2026
COULD this be the end for John Kiely in Limerick? He has been there for the last eight years and has masterminded five All-Ireland wins between 2018 and 2023. Advertisement 2 John Kiely's Limerick were dumped out of the All-Ireland by Dublin Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 2 Babs Keating believes it could be the end of Kiely's tenure at the helm Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile But the Treaty, that have scaled so many heights during their era of dominance, are now at the foot of the mountain following their The involvement of billionaire money wins you Liam MacCarthy Cups is nonsense in my view. Men like Kiely and his players are what lifts sides up the Hogan Stand steps . But many of those players may be approaching the twilight of their careers. Sometimes, you're just blessed to get a special bunch like that. Advertisement Read More on GAA I was lucky to be with a Tipperary gang that won five All-Irelands. We waited 18 years for another. Championship by drawing with Tipp in a very ordinary Munster game. Shane O'Brien's 0-4 pulled them through against next day — so to see him dropped for the final came as a shock. Other than a fourth-round romp against The Rebels learned their lessons and did a man-marking job on him in the decider and I'd have questions about how Kiely approached this campaign. Advertisement Most read in Sport It was names-out-of-a-hat stuff to decide a couple of the He hardly played any Palestine GAA players watch camogie match on laptop The performance against Limerick are starting at the same level as everybody else next year. It will be interesting to see if they can make it back to the summit — and if Kiely is the man to lead the trek. Advertisement
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Aaron Gillane strikes twice as Limerick avenge All-Ireland defeat AND dump out Clare with statement victory over Cork
AFTER their bid for a historic All-Ireland SHC five-in-a-row was plundered by Cork last summer, Limerick's payback was administered with interest. Claiming this year's National League title in such impressive fashion saw the Rebels billed as hurling's nouveau riche. 2 Aaron Gillane scored two goals for Limerick against Cork Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 2 Adam English also found the net Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile But the winners of four of the last six Liam MacCarthy Cups produced a breathtakingly brilliant display on a day when old money surged in value. Aaron Gillane had the first of his two goals with just over two minutes played. With a breeze behind them after the change of ends, Cork needed every ounce of help they could get if they were to have any hope of clawing their way back into the game. But the gap never dropped below double digits and sub Séamus Harnedy was the only Rebels player to register a score from play in the second half. Read More on GAA Indeed, Limerick went on to turn a 15-point half-time advantage into a 16-point victory as they sent an ominous message to the rest of the country. With All-Ireland champions Clare now officially out of the running to defend their title, Limerick's performance suggested that the agony of 2024 may only have served to make the big green giant stronger than ever. Their victory assured them of a place in the All-Ireland series. And only a highly unlikely defeat by at least 26 points on Sunday at home to a Banner outfit with nothing to play for — coupled with a Cork win over Waterford — would prevent Limerick from contesting another Munster final. Overcoming the Déise at Páirc Uí Chaoimh will earn Cork a chance to set the record straight against Limerick in a provincial decider in 19 days' time. Yet there are sure to be very few supporters of Pat Ryan's side keen on that prospect so soon after witnessing Sunday's reality check at the TUS Gaelic Grounds. Most read in Sport Ryan lamented: 'We stood off Limerick and let them use the ball as they can. They were at a really, really good pitch — they were really up for it. They got on top of us and we just didn't fight hard enough to get back into the game. 'We're not going to throw the toys out of the pram. We're going to assess, get our bodies fit again and be ready to go for Waterford, which will be a huge game next week.' Inside Lee Chin's life including day job as Wexford forward even stars during RTE GAA ad breaks with Johnny B Cork's status as favourites for All-Ireland glory was unceremoniously jettisoned by a Limerick team whose supporters took immense pleasure in seeing their team avenge the two Championship defeats of 2024. The visitors lost Declan Dalton to an early injury. Captain Rob Downey also failed to reappear for the second half. But the absentees were mere footnotes in a game that saw Cork post their lowest tally in the Championship since the 2016 Munster quarter-final loss to Tipperary. With 42,477 spectators baking under the summer sunshine as ref Liam Gordon threw in the sliotar, it immediately became clear that Limerick's oven had been pre-heated. They got off to a scorching start, putting 1-2 on the board as consecutive points for Tom Morrissey were followed by a Gillane goal. After darting into the left corner to collect a ball from Cian Lynch, the 2023 Hurler of the Year availed of a slip from Niall O'Leary as he turned inside and beat Patrick Collins. While Limerick had superb performers throughout their ranks, Lynch and Kyle Hayes set the standards. And they were the architects when their side's second green flag was raised on 27 minutes. After Shane Barrett was turned over in possession by Hayes, Lynch released English with a magical flick and the Doon youngster bagged his second goal of the campaign. Cork were utterly dominated in the first half. Their puckouts repeatedly malfunctioned and their forwards struggled badly to make the ball stick. All the while, Limerick looked as good as they ever have as they took a big step closer to a seventh straight Munster title. Fuelled by a relentless work ethic that never wavered despite the sweltering conditions, they hunted in packs and enjoyed superiority in the physical stakes. Yet above all else, some of their hurling was a joy to watch. 'SECOND FIDDLE' Ryan continued: 'We probably played second fiddle to Limerick all day. Their intensity and their work-rate was way higher than ours. 'That's the way we started and we just couldn't get back into the game at that stage. 'We missed a couple of goal opportunities that would have given us a bit of momentum and they took theirs. But look, their energy and their work-rate was a lot higher than us and that's the disappointing thing.' Cork had been in rampant form, racking up 19 goals in their last five outings. But their speedsters were afforded neither the time nor space to hit their stride and inflict the type of damage they subjected 14-man Tipp to last time out. Veteran marksman Patrick Horgan scored Cork's only goal from a close-range free to reduce Limerick's buffer to ten points on the hour mark. Still, the score gave his side no momentum whatsoever and it was the only one registered by the men in red in the final quarter. Gillane fired home his second goal from a penalty after being fouled by Eoin Downey as they jostled to claim a long delivery from Cathal O'Neill. Limerick boast an embarrassment of riches on their bench. And it was two of their subs who closed out the win, with O'Neill pointing his second and Peter Casey also firing a brace. JOB TO DO None of the previous five meetings of the teams were decided by more than a puck of a ball. But Cork now have a serious job on their hands to address the gulf that separated them here. Beaten boss Ryan said: 'If we win next week, we'll be back in the Munster final. That will give us a chance to come back up here and probably play Limerick again, just to do ourselves a bit more justice to what we did today. 'I suppose the one thing we learned today was that you have to be 100 per cent, with a couple of lads carrying niggles, but Limerick were a really good value for the win.' Up next, LIMERICK host Clare at the Gaelic Grounds next Sunday at 4pm. On the same day, CORK play Waterford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, also at 4pm. LIMERICK : N Quaid; M Casey 0-1, D Morrissey, S Finn; D Byrnes 0-1, K Hayes, B Nash; W O'Donoghue, A English 1-2; T Morrissey 0-5, C Lynch 0-1, G Hegarty 0-3; D Reidy 0-1, A Gillane 2-7, 1-0p, 6f, S O'Brien 0-1. Subs : D O'Donovan for O'Donoghue (temp) 37-40 mins, S Flanagan for O'Brien 51, C O'Neill 0-2 for T Morrissey 51, P Casey 0-2 for Reidy 59, C Coughlan for M Casey 67, A O'Connor for Byrnes 68, B Murphy for D Morrissey (temp) 73-ft. CORK : P Collins; E Downey, N O'Leary, S O'Donoghue; R Downey 0-1, C Joyce, M Coleman 0-1; E Twomey, T O'Mahony; D Dalton, D Fitzgibbon, S Barrett 0-1; P Horgan 1-9, 1-8f, B Hayes 0-1, A Connolly. Subs : B Roche 0-1 for Dalton 7 mins, C O'Brien for Downey h-t, S Harnedy 0-2 for Twomey h-t, D Cahalane for O'Leary 55, R O'Flynn for Connolly 66. REFEREE : L Gordon (Galway).
