Kearns fury as Limerick ‘dual’ rift deepens

LIMERICK football manager Liam Kearns and his selectors are to consider their position at the end of the year as the dual player row continues to divide the county.

Kearns launched a stinging broadside at County Board chiefs yesterday as the six players involved issued their own statement on the controversy. Said Kearns: “There are no winners here, only losers”.

Kearns said no meeting on the controversy had ever taken place between himself and hurling manager Padjoe Whelehan, despite repeated efforts by him to set up such talks. Eventually, Kearns revealed, he was left to negotiate through county secretary Jimmy Hartigan.

“My heart bleeds for the players. I know how committed they are, some of them are the most committed players you’d meet. One of them said to me, ‘I’m so frustrated with all of this I’m thinking of heading to America for the summer and forgetting about the GAA’. He’s one of the most committed players I’ve ever seen on the field, in hurling and football. We’re a dual-player county, that policy is there, for dual players to be supported by the County Board.

“I cannot understand how that policy has not been adhered to, how that policy has not withstood the test of this situation, and clearly, it hasn’t. There is an old saying that probably covers this situation”, he said: “the tail wagging the dog”.

Padjoe Whelehan would not comment on the row last night but indicated the hurling management would issue their own statement today.

The six players involved - Stephen Lucey, Brian Begley, Mark Keane, Conor Fitzgerald, Mike O'Brien and Mark O’Riordan - issued their own statement, accusing hurling management of denying them the right to represent their county in both codes.

“We did not opt out of the panel - we were presented with an ultimatum. We could not walk out on the football panel or on Liam Kearns.

“The situation was very badly handled. There was completed lack of dialogue, compromise, co-operation and common sense. The dual player policy still stands but is not worth the paper it is written on. We are amateur players and have given tremendous dedication to Limerick hurling. Our contribution has been overlooked.”

Kearns said he had adopted a ‘case by case’ attitude to demands on each of the six: “In Stephen Lucey’s case I only wanted him for competitive matches. He’s up in Dublin, coming down on Fridays to train with the hurlers and I didn’t see any point in bringing him down any more often than that. In Mark O’Riordan’s and Mike O’Brien’s case I wanted them for one night’s training, then twice with the hurlers, play a competitive match with us. Brian Begley and Conor Fitzgerald are both injured at the moment, so we didn’t discuss them. Mark Keane is named as one of the six but he has a young child, had more or less made his mind up that he was going to play football only.

“He (Jimmy Hartigan) got back to me and told me no meeting would be taking place. At that stage there was nothing more I could do, it was down to the County Board to sort it out.”

Kearns said a definite dual player policy was confirmed late last year, when he agreed a new two-year deal with Limerick.

“Because there was no hurling manager in place at the time, I sought assurances that the dual players would be available and that any prospective hurling manager would be told at interview stage that Limerick was a dual-player county. I was told that would happen, but I now have to wonder if it did.

“My two-year agreement was on that basis, but that basis no longer exists. We’re remaining in place for this year, as the players have given their backing to us, but I’ve informed the County Board that my selectors and myself will be considering our position at the end of the year.”