Finn looks at numbers on and off pitch and finds his balance

Limerick All Star and trainee accountant is happy to make hay with the All Ireland champions while he can 

Thinking of the future as much as the preseny: Limerick hurler Sean Finn at the announcement of the National Finalists for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme, an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

The language around the Limerick hurlers is revealing. John Kiely’s side has been described as a smooth-running machine. It evokes images of something inhuman and relentless, of robotic parts and systems devoid of emotion.

The modern game’s embrace of helmets only adds to this. Essential as it is, headgear strips sides of their individuality when seen by the naked eye but a half-hour in Sean Finn’s presence reaffirms the fact that there are distinct personalities behind it all.