Limerick reeling as O’Shaughnessy calls it a day

THE news yesterday that star forward Andrew O’Shaughnessy, not yet 27, has quit inter-county hurling has come as a blow in Limerick, catching his inter-county team-mates — current and former — completely by surprise.

“I’ve only just heard it,” said the retired Ollie Moran, alongside whom Andrew won an All-Star in 2007, reward for Limerick’s run to the All-Ireland final.

“All I can say is that he owes Limerick nothing. He was the ultimate professional, both in his personal life — how he conducted himself off the field, a non-drinker, non-smoker — and in his playing career. You never had to worry about Shaughs, he always did the right thing in terms of preparation.

“He set very high standards for himself, and met them — he was Limerick’s most potent forward for years. The buzz from the Limerick crowd whenever he got the ball, I supposed that summed him up really; in his pomp there were few to equal him. The pity is that he was there when Limerick weren’t successful; he was a finisher, that was his forte, but he had to do so much work himself as a ball-winner.

“He’ll be missed now.”

Even his current team-mates were caught on the hop.

“I’m shocked actually, pardon the pun,” said midfielder Donal O’Grady; “He’s a quiet fella anyway but he was extra quiet for the last week, so we should have known something was coming.

“He didn’t say anything to any of the players, just slipped away. Even in training, the last six or eight weeks he hasn’t been around that much, which is unusual for him — the same interest didn’t seem to be there with him. He’s still based in Cork so maybe he was finding it more difficult. He’s the kind of fella that has to give 100% to everything, he’s unbelievable that way, prepared really well for every match, maybe that effort was beginning to tell.

“He’s still young enough to come back in a year or two, when he has more time on his hands, but his contribution to Limerick hurling for the last decade is unquestionable — many a day he carried the team at underage and at senior.

“The only regret is that we didn’t win a Munster title in 2007 for him, but he carried us on many occasions. He was an exemplary trainer — a lot of the older players looked up to him, never mind the younger players, he was one of our big-name players. The best of luck to him, but maybe he’ll change his mind in a year or two.”

Former manager Joe McKenna likewise had nothing but positive things to say. “He came on the Limerick scene very, very young (as a minor, in 2002) but even at that age he was making a massive contribution. I’m sorry to see him retire at such a young age, but it’s a huge commitment nowadays.

“He was very easy to manage, his whole life revolved around hurling, his heart and soul were in it. I had a great relationship with him, a tremendous player, pity to see him retire so young. I wish him the very best.”