Ciarán Carey happy to bury ghosts of past Limerick disappointments

Ciarán Carey says Limerick’s All-Ireland final victory this year has made the disappointments of 1994 and ‘96 easier to bear.

Not that they haunt the Patrickswell legend but the win over Galway firmly put into the past those final losses to Offaly and Wexford.

Having a nephew, Cian Lynch, so prominent in the glory made it even sweeter for Carey.

“To be honest, ‘94 and ‘96 are well and truly gone. I’m at peace with that a long time ago. I’ve no notion of bringing that regret into my fifties, sixties, and seventies. I’m pretty okay with that.

“At the end of the day, it’s a game, it’s sport, we got so far and we didn’t cross the line, we didn’t win it. Okay, it took a bit of a while for the pill to be swallowed emotionally to get through it and be able to park it and say, ‘Right, we had a good time but we didn’t win an All-Ireland’.

“Of course, it makes it that bit easier now. It makes it that bit easier because Limerick have been starving and crying out for an All-Ireland since 1973. Now that they’re after doing it, you know, the pressure is off now.

“The pressure is off now for the supporters, the past players, past management. There was a huge deal that was made of this, to be fair, because any fella who would have worn the Limerick jersey from ‘74 to 2018, ultimately that’s what they went out to achieve. So that will tell you the enormity of it.

“Myself personally, if they didn’t win it this year would it emotionally cripple Ciaran Carey or hijack me emotionally? No, it wouldn’t,” he laughed.

“But, as I said, it was fair special to see history being made this year. It was absolutely beautiful spiritually and emotionally. It was massive to see it and massive emotionally for myself as well, especially when Cian was involved.”

Carey admitted he shed tears of joy at the final whistle.

“Being honest, watching the game it was the type of game you could enjoy. I was enjoying the match because I felt that we were in control in a lot of areas in the field, really. Especially the full-forward line, I felt 13, 14 and 15 for Limerick had the Galway full-back line in serious trouble. It was going so well for so long and then it finished the way it did. There was a bit of a tremor in the last five or six minutes.

“At that stage alright I would have said, ‘uh, oh, what’s going on here?’ Thankfully, they held out and it was just a flood of emotion then, really. I’d be telling lies if I didn’t say I cried and shed a tear when I saw Tom Condon coming out with that last ball.”

Now qualified in psychotherapy counselling, Carey is opening up his own addiction clinic in Limerick city while continuing to work as a counsellor in Cuan Mhuire Treatment Centre in Bruree.

He was last night inducted into the Gaelic Writers Association’s (GWA) Hall of Fame alongside Down’s Mickey Linden.

Lynch was chosen as hurling personality of the year and Monaghan star Conor McManus was selected in football. PRO of the year went to Roscommon’s Hugh Lynn while Donal Keenan was honoured with the GWA Lifetime Achievement award.