Munster GAA stars annoyed as games clash

ALLSTAR forward Eoin Kelly is just one of the many disappointed at the rugby/hurling fixtures clash this weekend.

When Munster will be taking on Leinster in the Heineken Cup semi-final, Kelly’s Tipperary take on Kilkenny in the NHL semi-final in Thurles.

Kelly is just one of tens of thousands of GAA players and supporters who have followed Munster’s fortunes over the last six seasons.

Would he now count himself a fan? “I would now yeah,” he said this week in Croke Park, where he was one of over a dozen top GAA stars launching the Adidas player sponsorship deal.

“Everyone is kind of jumping on that bandwagon the last couple of years, they’re good to watch. It will be interesting now to see how it goes, a hard one to call, but sure we’re not going to get to see it.”

It wasn’t just for himself he was disappointed, however; in the first semi-final, at the same venue, Limerick take on Clare. Munster’s inspirational team captain Anthony Foley, a Killaloe native, played U-16 hurling for East Clare, while several of the Munster team are from Limerick, where rugby holds a special place alongside hurling in the sporting hearts of the people.

A pity then, reckons Eoin, they are going to have to lose out this weekend. “There’s great colour and banners up around Limerick, they’re great supporters of Munster, but their hurlers are flying at the moment, they always get great support when their team is going well, so it’s obviously a disappointment from their point of view.”

Clare manager Anthony Daly was even more annoyed. “Madness, complete and utter madness, but that’s the GAA,” he said. “It’s crazy, Limerick being the home of Irish rugby, huge interest in Limerick in both games, but particularly in the rugby this weekend. It’s still only a League semi-final, let’s face it, against a European semi-final. There would be big Clare interest as well, because of the Clare lads on the team over the years. I never played with Anthony (Foley), but I played with Keith Wood alright, soccer, for the Clare Leagues.

“There’s no argument that makes sense to me for not bringing the games forward to Saturday. Congress? How would it have interfered with Congress? We’d love to have played it on Saturday evening, Limerick would love to have played it, I’m sure the same goes for the other semi-final, Brian Cody and Babs (managers of Kilkenny and Tipp respectively) would have played on Saturday evening also.

“You’d have a good crowd on Saturday evening, it will be a lot less now than it would have been. Makes no sense. They could even have split the games on Saturday evening. We wanted to have a game in Thurles, but Tipp and Kilkenny could have played in Nowlan Park, no hassle.”

Unfortunately, however, for Kelly, for Daly, for the other players and fans, there are still those in the GAA who bull-headedly refuse to facilitate their own.

Meanwhile with full back Philip Maher passed fit to play Tipperary have made just one change from the side that defeated Offaly last weekend for next Sunday’s Allianz NHL semi final clash with Kilkenny at Semple Stadium, Thurles.

Under 21 star Darragh Egan from the Kildangan club comes in at left corner forward in place of team captain Ger O’Grady, while Maher, who sustained a hand injury during the course of the Offaly game has been given the thumbs up to start.

Kilkenny are due to name their team tonight and the expectations are that full back Noel Hickey and centre forward Henry Shefflin will finally make their comebacks after long-term injuries.

Stephen Lucey returns to the Limerick hurling team for Sunday’s National League semi-final against Clare to the exclusion of Mark O’Riordan. Lucey missed out on the original selection in their win over Waterford last weekend but came in as a substitute.

Clare won’t finalise their team to play Limerick until tomorrow night but definitely ruled out because of injury are Conor Plunkett and Andrew Quinn.

Following their convincing semi final victory over Connacht neighbours Mayo at Castlebar last weekend, Galway are expected to name an unchanged side for Sunday’s final against Kerry at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds.

Down have received a major boost with the news that Benny Coulter will be available for the Ulster SFC opener against Down at Casement Park on 7 May.

The star forward, who broke two bones in a hand against Armagh a month ago, returned to action for his club Mayobridge at the weekend.

TIPPERARY (SH v Kilkenny): B. Cummins; P. Curran, P. Maher, M. Ryan; E. Corcoran, D. Fanning, H. Moloney; P. Kelly, S. McGrath; C. Morrissey, J, Carroll, K. Dunne; E. Kelly, M. Webster, D. Egan.

KERRY (SH v Mayo): P.J. O’Gorman; J. Fitzgerald, M. Lucid, J. Griffin; K. O’Sullivan, D. Slattery, C. Harris; A. Boyle, A. Cronin; S. Brick, M. Conway, D. Young; J. Egan, J. M. Dooley, M. Slattery.

LIMERICK (SH v Clare): B Murray, D Reale, TJ Ryan, M Foley, O Moran, B Geary, D O’Grady, P O’Grady, D Ryan, M O’Brien, S Lucey, C Fitzgerald, A O’Shaughnessy, B Begley, M Keane.