O’Brien ready to spring into action

JAMES O’BRIEN reckons he could be driving around in a flashy car if he had gone to a bookmaker last winter and put a nice wager on the Limerick hurlers getting to the All-Ireland final.

Bear in mind that the county hadn’t won a game in the Munster championship since 2001 and that their appearances in Croke Park in September had been limited to just four since their last triumph in 1973.

And one of those was the following year, when they had to hand back the title to Kilkenny.

His father Jim was a member of the successful 1973 team managed by Eamonn Cregan’s brother Mickey, and which Down-born Joe McGrath had earlier been associated with.

Best-known as coach to the Cork football team which lost to Dublin in the famous 1983 All-Ireland semi-final replay in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and hugely successful with Blackrock hurlers, McGrath had managed Limerick when they won the 1971 League final against Tipperary — thanks to a late point from Richie Bennis.

O’Brien, 26, is Limerick’s nominated captain, but has been unable to command a regular place.

But he is one of several who have been used to telling effect at key stages in their campaign. Significantly he appeared in the two games in Croke Park, against Clare and Waterford.

Last night, when the team was announced to the players, he would have shared the disappointment of the others who won’t realise their dream of starting in an All-Ireland final. In his case, it means so much more. Except that for all his hopes and aspirations of leading the team around the field behind the Artane Boys band, he would have been prepared for the worst.

Midfielder on the third of the winning U-21 teams in 2002, he wasn’t involved last year — being one of a small group who were culled from the squad by then manager Joe McKenna.

But his luck turned after Bruree won the county championship and he was later recalled to the panel. “You could not have foreseen what has happened. It’s like a dream,’’ he says.

“Bruree gave me the opportunity. It would be nice to walk up the steps of the Hogan Stand!’’

The last place any player wants to be is on the bench, but he appreciated his position from the outset. “I asked Damien Reale if he would lead the team onto the field if I was not playing and he said he’d be delighted to. When he was injured for the Munster final, Brian Geary did it. When I’m on the field I’d still be captain. Sitting in the stand it’s easy to get caught in watching the game. You don’t know if you will get a ‘run’ or not. You have to stay focused, you always have to be ready. And you can be lucky or unlucky if you do come on. Sometimes you can be there from the start and you might not get a break. But, you could come on as a sub and the ball hops into your hand.’’

Growing up, he always knew that his father had been a member of an All-Ireland winning team, but it was only when he got older that he realised how special it was for him and his team-mates.

“When you looked at the history books you saw that Limerick were at the receiving end of a lot of beatings over the years. In one sense, I suppose he was lucky to get his medal.’’

Reflecting on the ‘phenomenal’ progress this team has made in 12 months, O’Brien points out that luck doesn’t come into the equation. Essentially, it was all about getting over that hump of going so long without a Munster championship win and about the players really believing in themselves.

Still, the wait wasn’t as long as it had been for Tipperary — when after beating Cork in 1973 went 10 years for another win. The losing sequence began in the final, when Bennis scored ‘that’ dramatic winning point and Limerick went on to defeat London before getting the better of Kilkenny in the final.

“Beating Tipperary after the three games was a huge factor. The players just needed that kind of a boost to get their confidence up. After that, maybe we did not appreciate the fact that we were in a Munster final. With 10 minutes to go we should have kicked for home. Looking back now it was definitely a chance that was missed. But thankfully we learned a lesson. And we had the chance to rectify things against Waterford the next day.’’

Recognising the magnitude of the task facing them, O’Brien says that while they will give Kilkenny the respect that they deserve, they won’t be in awe of the champions.

“You could look at their videos and wonder are they unstoppable, but we’ll be concentrating on our own team. It will be different from the semi-final and we know we have a mountain to climb.

“It’s only a cliché, but at the end of the day, it’s still only 15 against 15!’’