Hickey happy to be fighting his corner

It was a surprise when Seamus Hickey was named in the starting 15 for Limerick in their Munster semi-final win over Tipperary on June 1 after returning from a cruciate injury suffered in the All-Ireland semi-final loss to Clare last August.

But it was an even bigger surprise that Murroe-Boher’s finest started at corner-back, a position he hadn’t manned since his stellar season of 2007 when he was named Young Hurler of the Year.

Since his first game back, a challenge against Cork in Charleville in late April when he was brought on as a second-half sub (“as raw as a steak!”), he knew he was getting close. But starting and displacing Stephen Walsh, one of the stars as Limerick won Munster last year? Even Seamus himself was surprised.