Browne hails heady days as Limerick fortunes turn

IT COMES as a surprise to learn that Paul Browne is still only 23 and experiencing just his fifth season as an inter-county hurler, but the Limerick midfielder bears the battle scars of the most grizzled veteran.

His debut year was 2009 and, though the Munster side saw off Wexford, Laois and Dublin in the qualifiers, they bookended those victories with an eight-point defeat to Waterford in the province and an All-Ireland semi-final mauling by Tipperary. At the time, it was inconceivable to think of a depthbelow.

Tipperary beat them by 24 points that last day and scored six goals in the process and yet what followed in 2010, with the standoff between then manager Justin McCarthy and the majority of the squad, was a nadir of nuclear proportions. Fast forward to last Sunday and the county was celebrating a first provincial senior title in 17 years amidst some of the most memorable post-match scenes witnessed at a GAA ground in modern times.

Browne was just one of four — Nickie Quaid, David Breen and Graeme Mulcahy the others — who featured during that most hollow of championship campaigns three years ago as well as in Sunday’s unforgettable Munster final victory.

Quite the reversal in fortunes for a man who explained that, as a newbie on the scene, he decided to hurl through the county’s civil war simply for fear that he might never be asked back if he joined the picket line.

“It is a long journey,” he said at yesterday’s launch of the All-Ireland Hurling Series in Loughgeorge, Galway. “I’m not going to go into it. It was a difficult time. There were a few of us there that stuck around.

“It wasn’t a nice time to be hurling but, look, we’re over it now. We’d Donal O’Grady over us in 2011 and then we’d John Allen who came in to do a fantastic job. There’s the makings of a real nice team there.”

The upswing in Limerick’s fortunes began in 2011 with a mesmerising U21 provincial final win against Cork at the Gaelic Grounds. A steadying performance by the seniors that summer, and a one-point loss to Waterford in particular, added belief while momentum was generated last season when they pushed both Tipperary and Kilkenny hard before bowing out.

“We should have won in 2011 against Waterford,” Browne said with a rueful smile. “It was me who gave away the ball for the [John] Mullane goal that won it. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think of that still.

“It was the last 10 minutes against Waterford in 2011, the last 10 minutes against Tipperary last year and the last 10 minutes against Dublin this year in the league, that’s when we lost all those games.

“We were just so focused before Tipperary this year on not letting those last 10 minutes happen again.

“We’d worked so hard on trying to make sure our fitness was right from the start of this year. We got gym programmes, nutrition plans and everything. That last 10 minutes is our spurring-on factor all year.”

Maybe, but there was no reason to fear for themselves as the dying embers went out last Sunday as Limerick had constructed an unassailable gap between themselves and a Cork side down to 14 players.

Browne had the luxury of looking on as one over-exuberant child was yanked back from the field of play by his father just before the final whistle sounded and pandemonium was finally declared legal.

The challenge now is to land back on terra firma and hit the ground running in the five weeks between their deliverance in Munster and an All-Ireland semi-final which their supporters will approach in the giddiest of humours.

“That’s the big challenge. On Sunday in the first half we were kind of rusty and the five-week gaps are hard to manage. Those ‘Greens versus Whites’ games we do are hugely important — we have to get them as competitive and intense as much as we can. Being back training so soon has us right back down to earth and the club championship is a break on the way. We might get a week off up to that and it’s good to get away and get a bit of freshness. We’re away for a few days and next thing you know you haven’t seen lads for a week or so and it brings a bit of freshness and new life.”

Meanwhile, Paudie O’Brien has emerged as an injury concern for Limerick ahead of next month’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final. O’Brien revealed the lengths he had gone to to ensure he was fit to line out in the provincial decider against Cork at the Gaelic Grounds, after suffering a hamstring injury just a couple of weeks before the game.

But O’Brien twisted his ankle against the Rebels and went off with 12 minutes remaining. Local sources have confirmed that O’Brien was seen on crutches in Limerick on Monday afternoon. X-rays have revealed no break but ligament damage leaves the wing-back facing another race against time. Conor Allis, a 52nd minute sub against Cork, is also struggling with an ankle injury.