The hurling academy: A Limerick legend’s legacy

The Limerick academy I was involved with for three years was about fostering a culture of doing things the right way — and not necessarily all about winning. Some people in the county had issues with me over that but I never had anyone say a single negative thing to my face, writes Anthony Daly

I was in my mother’s house in Clarecastle in October 2014 when I got a phone call from Joe McKenna. I had Joe’s number in my phone but I didn’t know why he was calling. He asked me if I was around. Drive to the Inn at Dromoland, he said, which was just down the road from me. So I did.

I had finished up with Dublin only a few weeks earlier. After six years on that long road, I wasn’t even thinking about a move but Joe immediately dangled one in front of me. He told me about the Limerick underage academy, its history, and aims. Joe had been involved in establishing it with Liam Hayes and Eibhear O’Dea and now, three years after its set-up, Joe wanted to try and evolve it into something more.