Colin Ryan: Barry Nash is the perfect example, but Limerick's versatility is team-wide 

'You see Cian [Lynch] going to midfield or centre-forward. It doesn't matter to him. That's the beauty of it. That's why they're so good,' Ryan said.

ALL STAR FORM: Barry Nash of Limerick during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Until Limerick lost their 2019 All-Ireland semi-final tie to Kilkenny, Barry Nash's feet appeared to be stuck in quicksand.

Even for one of the most celebrated underage forwards that the county had produced, lining out in attack for two All-Ireland U-21 final wins, breaking into the Limerick senior team appeared to be beyond him.

But in defeat to the Cats came a victory of sorts for Nash who surprisingly slotted into defence when Declan Hannon went off injured at half-time that day and played a blinder.

Remarkably, the South Liberties man has started all 15 Championship games that Limerick have played since that landmark loss, the number four shirt now apparently welded to his back.

"I was surprised at the start," said Colin Ryan, who played alongside Nash for Limerick in an All-Ireland minor final and two U-21 finals. "But then there's such competition there in the half-forward line with Gearoid Hegarty and Cian Lynch and Tom Morrissey. You see the way it has worked out since, he's lording it there at the moment."

To those with only a passing interest in hurling, it's the third reinvetion of Nash. He first rose to national attention when his opening point in the 2013 All-Ireland minor semi-final against Galway was incorrectly ruled out by Hawk-Eye. Galway won the game after extra-time and Limerick's subsequent appeal failed.

Two years later, Nash was back in the headlines as a free-scoring forward in a Limerick U-21 full-forward line containing Ryan which shot down Wexford. The duo repeated the feat in 2017, at Kilkenny's expense before winning senior medals together in 2018.

"It was a bit of a pity what happened in 2013, Barry was centre-forward back then," said Ryan, who was on the Limerick bench next to Nash in 2019 when he was called on to replace Hannon in the backs.

"I think he plays midfield with his club South Liberties so he's obviously a really versatile player.

"Down through the years, if you look through a lot of the Limerick players, they've all played in different positions. You see Cian going to midfield or centre-forward. It doesn't matter to him. That's the beauty of it. That's why they're so good."

Pallasgreen man Ryan didn't make the Limerick panel in 2020 and is best known these days for his Poc Fada successes. He won the 2021 M Donnelly GAA All-Ireland Poc Fada title on Annaverna Moutain and will return to the Cooley Peninsula on August 1 to defend his title.

By then, Limerick could be three-in-a-row All-Ireland winners and, who knows, John Kiely might even see a role for someone with Ryan's skills for 2023.

"Please God," said Ryan on the suggestion of a recall. "I'll keep going with the club anyway, Pallasgreen. That's the aim at the moment. Keep plugging away, keep going, trying my best. That's all you can do."

In the meantime, Ryan will be rooting for a group of players he hurled alongside for years.

"Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey, all of those boys, I'd know them really well," he said. "It's exciting times, the way they've come through. To see where they are now is phenomenal.

"I got great confidence from playing with them and seeing what they've gone on to do. Playing with Cian and all of those boys, some of them are my best friends. It gives you great confidence that you can mix it with the best."

Ryan has his All-Ireland senior medal from 2018 stored away safely in his home. Many of his friends are favourites to collect their fourth on Sunday and to etch their names in history as three-in-a-row winners.

"I don't think it would be a motivation, I really don't," said Ryan. "I know the players, I just don't think that would come into their mind. They just want to get the win and people can talk about that in a few years' time or when they're finished."

John Kiely has been on some journey too, from being booed by his own fans after the team's 7-22 drubbing by Cork in a Munster Senior Hurling League game at the start of his reign in 2017, to piling up the All-Irelands.

Ryan lined out in attack that day against Cork in January of 2017.

"It was weird, it was tough," said Ryan of the experience. "Especially for a new manager coming in, it was obviously tough on John at the time. But he got over it and did fairly okay afterwards!"