Time for Limerick to decide and move on, pleads Geary

IT’S make your mind up time in Limerick hurling, says former player Brian Geary, breaking his silence on the crisis that has split the county for the past five months.

The issue is stark for the 100 or so delegates in Claughaun this evening for the special county board meeting that was called for by the requisite five clubs. Do you support manager Justin McCarthy or do you want to end Justin’s tenure, see a new manager come in and pick from the best Limerick hurling has to offer?

“I’m reluctant to do any interview, I’ll be quite honest,” said Brian. “I’ve stayed away from any publicity up to now and I don’t think that me coming out in the paper is going to make any difference – most clubs have already made up their minds, will have mandated their delegates.

“But I have a major gripe with the county board, that it has taken this long for it all to come to a head.

“In all the previous meetings – including last December, when Justin was approved again as manager – claims were made that players were coming back, when they weren’t, and this only led to confusion among the clubs, who didn’t want to be seen to be getting in the way of a possible solution.

“I can see only one reason why the board were saying that, and that was because they felt under pressure. It’s a pity it has taken this long to reach this stage, where everyone knows where they stand. The delegates now know that the players are not coming back under this management, so it’s a straight vote.

“My head is wrecked from it at this stage. I’ve been thinking about this so much – it wasn’t too bad when it happened initially but it’s really after getting to me in the last three weeks for some reason, it’s taking its toll.

“I never thought I’d let it get to me as much as it has, but listening to people over the last few weeks, the stuff that’s coming back from the meetings, the matches. Like, there’s a meeting in my own club tonight and I got a phone call today asking me what my position is – what do they think my position is?

“But we have a young fella on the new panel and I’m sure he’s getting the same phone call – it’s a no-win situation for the players could end up dividing clubs.

“The atmosphere around the whole county has gone sour.

“Everything is out in the open now, we all know the situation. It’s come to a head, hopefully that will be the end of it.

“We need to move on, no matter what the outcome.”