John Kiely steps in to derail Limerick hype train
It was one of the stranger introductions to a post-game press conference.
After their stirring win over Cork last Sunday, Limerick manager John Kiely began his dealings with the media with a threat to withdraw his team from dealing with the press in the event of a reporter contacting individual players.
Don’t roll your eyes. This isn’t a plea for the sensitivities of the working press.
For one thing, reporters aren’t made of sugar and spice: We can handle a bit of bluntness. For another, the debate about which All-Ireland titles have been won or lost by the media is for another time and place.
Our question is simple: Is Kiely correct?
In the case of Limerick, he may well be. The week of the 2007 All-Ireland hurling final, we got a phone call here in the office of the Irish Examiner: Were we interested in a chat with three of the Limerick hurlers?
Of course we were, but it being four or five days to the biggest day of their sporting lives, and the general media shutdown the week of the final...
Not at all, said the man on the other end of the line. There was a commercial premises being opened the next day in a (named) Limerick town and the three players would be there for all the world to talk to. Including the press. In the event we declined the invitation.
Handling a first All-Ireland final is a challenge across all platforms, but when it’s a county’s first in a long time, those challenges are multiplied. It’s only 2007 since Limerick were in a decider, but that seems like decades ago now, with the explosion of the hype machine across social media and beyond.
It’s a first senior decider for most of the Limerick players and for manager Kiely, but they have significant help in the form of Seamus Hickey, who played in that 2007 defeat by Kilkenny, and Paul Kinnerk on the management team. Kinnerk was part of the Clare set-up in 2013, so he and Hickey can surely advise on the potholes which may appear along the road.
Not all of the issues relate to the media either. After Sunday’s game Kiely said: “To be fair, the supporters have been absolutely fantastic and given us great space and I’m sure they will over the next few weeks as well.”
His words were echoed by captain Declan Hannon: “Limerick supporters are unbelievable. There was, obviously, a massive crowd there today, but yeah, we try and take ourselves as far away from the hype as possible and just get back training for the next few weeks.”
That’s easier said than done, as the public will not only look to encourage the players individually, but will be keen on a supporters’ day to meet the team.
This has been a minefield in other counties. Waterford were caught in a dilemma when they made their first final in over 40 years, back in 2008, as they had to satisfy their followers in both the city and the west of the county.
In the end they ran two supporters’ nights to accommodate both sides of the county, with some of the players regretting afterwards the loss of two nights’ training.
Three years before that, Galway reached the All-Ireland final after a cracking win over Kilkenny and decided to hold a meet-and-greet with their own public a couple of weeks before the decider with Cork.
The problem was the media night, which was held the same evening: After a light workout, the Galway players stood around on the field sweating as they signed autographs for kids and fielded questions from the representatives of the fourth estate. One member of the public took a shine to a Galway player’s favourite hurley and took it as a permanent souvenir of the evening; another panellist grumbled aloud about the chill he was getting.
In both those years — 2005 and 2008 — Waterford and Galway were dealing with far more experienced opponents. Waterford were up against a Kilkenny team which, at that point, had played in five of the previous six All-Ireland finals, and had their routine for September Sundays down pat. Galway were up against a Cork side facing into its third consecutive All-Ireland final.
That familiarity can be an advantage, as the contestants on All-Ireland final day aren’t always starting from the same position in terms of experience. If Limerick end up facing Galway, they’ll be up against the reigning champions, who can draw on a wealth of experience garnered over the last six years.
If Clare come through, the majority of their panel will look at the lessons learned preparing for their All-Ireland final and replay five years ago.
Limerick have a strong hand heading into this All-Ireland final.
Their conditioning is terrific, their spirit is good, their results will drive confidence within the squad and their spread of scoring means there isn’t a reliance on one particular game-breaker, who may be shackled in a particular game.
Hype, however, is something that goes on outside the group and therefore can’t be controlled. Kiely may have made the right call in trying to stamp it out before it can take root.
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