Anthony Daly: From heroes to hurling's most hunted - Limerick getting a taste of what's to come
Tipperary players form a guard of honour for Limerick before the league game in at the Gaelic Grounds last month. John Kiely may try to utilise a siege mentality, says Anthony Daly.
A broad smile creased my face as soon as I read Andrew O’Shaughnessy’s comments on these pages on Wednesday.
Andrew didn’t really delve into conspiracy theories, or conspiracy theorists, but the thrust of what he said triggered so many memories of how we felt in Clare in 1998 — albeit at a later stage of the season — when we were trying to win a third All-Ireland in four years.
Shaughs felt that Limerick are being officiated harsher than their opponents. He doesn’t believe that they’re getting a fair crack of the whip from referees. Yet what really caught my attention was Shaughs’ sense that some people would be happy if Limerick cleared off and retreated back to the margins.
“(They say) It was great for Limerick to win for the first time in 45 years and winning a second one, that’s fantastic,” he told John Fogarty. “But don’t be winning too many more.”
When we were doing the GAA podcast 12 days ago, I was ribbing TJ Ryan about what may be coming down the tracks for Limerick.
I doubt if John Kiely will turn into Ger Loughnane and preside over a circus of events that you couldn’t make up; Colin Lynch’s three-month suspension on evidence that was questionable at best. Loughnane going apoplectic as he sought out Marty Morrissey for stating on live TV that Lynch’s grandmother was dead when she was still alive.
A prominent Clare County Board official overhearing three priests in Thurles calling Loughnane and the Clare team a crowd of tramps on drugs that had it coming to them. The Jimmy Cooney affair.
Even now, the whole thing seems GUBU, but it’s a different world now. If crowds do return and three more priests were to somehow have it in for Kiely and Limerick, a county board official will hardly be able to eavesdrop on them through social distancing protocols!
What happened in 1998 will never happen again but, when you’re not a traditional county, and you’re threatening to take over, it is far easier to develop that siege mentality, and to think that the traditionalists — and everyone else — want to see you taken down.
‘It’s all coming back to me now, kid,’ I said to the bould Teej on the podcast two weeks ago.
Kiely wasn’t long gone off the Limerick panel at that time to have known full well what Clare experienced over 20 years ago. He will want to guard against anything derailing Limerick’s bid to retain their All-Ireland, but you can still see a bit of tension and frustration in John’s demeanour, and in his comments, similar to that anger which fuelled Loughnane in 1998.
Loughnane was fuelled by that stuff and, in a weird way, if I was in Kiely’s shoes now, I’d be embracing it all too. For a start, it’s a handy way of gathering ammunition, while it also makes it easier to pull up the drawbridge and close off the castle walls to further develop that siege mentality. It is tailor-made for Kiely and his players to foster that brazen attitude of, ‘Hi, here we are, come and sack us if ye can’.
Kiely will close off the outside noise, but he might not even have to say too much for the next four weeks before Limerick set off on their championship journey. This evening’s battle with Cork is a perfect starting point, especially when Limerick need a first win in the league.
There is bound to be some shadow boxing, especially when both teams are down key players, and particularly when Cork have gone with a young team, with many of their big guns on the bench or in the stands watching on.
Cork have earned that right with five points out of six from their opening three games. Limerick on the other hand are under that bit more pressure to produce a winning performance, especially when their last league game is against Westmeath, whereas Cork have Galway coming to Pairc Ui Chaoimh tomorrow week.
The beauty of being All-Ireland champions though, is that it reduces any propensity for panic. Kiely has named 10 definite championship starters for this evening and he has so many options available, especially in defence, that he can look at certain match-ups this evening that may inform his team selection for July 3.
Both teams will have one eye trained on that championship opener but Limerick’s need for a win is greater for now, so I expect them to secure the two points.
When I watched the Dublin-Antrim game on GAAGO recently, I was really impressed with Dublin’s defensive spine of Liam Rushe and Eoghan O’Donnell. Antrim got no joy whatsoever down that central corridor, so it will be interesting to see how Clare attack it this evening in Parnell Park, particularly when so much of their gameplan is focused on long ball into Aron Shanagher at full-forward.
Dublin have the marquee defenders that Clare would like to have because Clare are probably still wondering about the John Conlon project, as well as lamenting the loss of Patrick O’Connor to injury.
This is a big game for Clare, especially after losing to Antrim and Wexford, and particularly when Dublin are so hard to beat in Parnell Park. This is a hard match to call but, without the crowd to roar on the Dubs, I’ll go for Clare.
The game of tomorrow is certainly Galway-Waterford in Salthill. From talking to Derek McGrath in Montrose last weekend, I definitely got the sense that Waterford are seeking another statement win after beating Limerick.
If Waterford bring that attitude, I expect this to be a cracker of a match, especially when Galway will be slightly stung with how they lost to Tipperary. Galway weren’t that far away in that game but conceding two goals cost them. After failing to score a goal against Limerick and Tipp, that’s another area Galway will be targeting.
With both sides in different provinces, this is a free wallop, if you know what I mean, in that both sides can go flat out. If the weather is fine and there isn’t a gale blowing in Salthill, and if both sides do go flat out, I wouldn’t rule out a draw here in a potential league classic.
Elsewhere, I expect wins for Wexford, Tipperary, and Kilkenny. Wexford were atrocious against Kilkenny, so they’ll be looking for a response against Antrim. Kilkenny will be looking to maintain their winning run as the only unbeaten team in 1B against a Laois side whose biggest concern is the huge scores they’re conceding.
If Westmeath can just get a performance against Tipp tomorrow, that would nearly keep them going heading into the Joe McDonagh Cup.
They got unmerciful hammerings from Galway and Cork but if Shane O’Brien can get his side to replicate at least one more defiant display like the one they produced against Waterford, that would counter-balance the other two results.
Westmeath do have Limerick in their last game, which could be another horror-show, but Shane could nearly write off that match and rest some of his main men ahead of the Joe McDonagh. Westmeath just have to try and salvage something from the wreckage so far before they head into the championship.
Because at this stage of the season, every team is definitely gearing for what’s coming down the tracks, and not what’s ahead of them now.
