‘The place was like a scene out of Angela’s Ashes’

I saw a great quote from Limerick goalkeeper and captain Nickie Quaid during the week. “In Limerick, things are never as good as they’re made out to be,” he said. “And they’re never as bad as they’re made out to be either.”

From working in Limerick with their underage hurling academy, and coaching the minor hurlers, I thought Nickie nailed it. I’ve seen up close how the mentality and the mood oscillates so wildly. After we beat Cork in a Munster minor semi-final last summer, there was a pitch invasion that you wouldn’t see after an All-Ireland.

The whole place was down in the dumps when we lost to Tipp in the Munster final ten days later. I suppose when die-hard supporters are craving success that badly, results make mood swings so pronounced.