Liam Cahill facing a battle to tempt namesake Jerome back

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC: Kilruane MacDonaghs captain Jerome Cahill lifts the cup after the Tipperary County Senior Club Hurling Championship Final Replay match between Kilruane MacDonaghs and Kiladangan at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Pic: Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile

Liam Cahill is facing an uphill task to tempt Jerome Cahill back into the Tipperary fold.

Cahill, the Kilruane MacDonaghs captain and standout hurler of the Tipperary hurling championship this year, will be top of the new county manager’s recruitment wish list for 2023. Scorer of two superb goals in the drawn final, Cahill assisted Cian Darcy’s first goal in a quieter replay display before becoming the first Kilruane man to lift the Dan Breen Cup in 37 years.

The two Cahills, player and manager, have enjoyed plenty of success together. Jerome won All-Ireland minor, U21, and U20 titles under Liam, completing an All-Ireland senior and U20 double in 2019. He was named the U20 Hurler of the Year that season.

It all seemed to be trending in one direction but Cahill’s last involvement for Tipperary came just before the Covid shutdown in March 2020 and he hasn’t donned the blue and gold since.

His club commitment with Kilruane, while eschewing the county setup, has brought balance to Cahill’s life, which he isn’t keen to lose.

“I’ve been there before. I know the commitment and dedication that’s involved, and also I know the reward and the absolute privilege that it is to put on that blue and gold,” said Cahill, who works as an accountant.

“Having said that, I feel I have a good balance in my life at the moment which I probably wouldn’t get if I was training five nights a week. I want to maintain that.

“I’m sure Liam and the boys, everything they do will be for the betterment of Tipperary hurling so we’ll see what comes down the line but we’ve to worry about Ballygunner next Sunday first.” 

When it comes to perspective beyond hurling, it wasn’t hard to find this year. Jerome Cahill was wearing the number 30 on his back instead of 11 as a mark of respect to Dillon Quirke. After lifting the Dan Breen Cup, he remembered his former Tipperary comrade in his speech.

Kilruane then stepped away from the celebrations at Semple Stadium to gather as a team at the spot where Quirke collapsed during their group game against Clonoulty-Rossmore last August. Manager Liam O’Kelly held a red helmet aloft, evocative of Quirke’s celebration on his greatest day for Clonoulty in the Tipperary final five years ago, and said some words of tribute.

“If ever we needed something to give us perspective in life and how precious it is, it was that day in August,” said Cahill.

“It was a very unique position as a team to be in and it brought us closer as a team and contributed to that unity that got us over the line today.” 

Underdogs don’t usually fare so well in replays but Cahill agrees that Kilruane’s tradition of success dating back to the 1970s and ‘80s played a role, even against 2020 champions Kiladangan.

“That’s a valid point. History and tradition. We probably had that more so than Kiladangan. Even though it was 36 years ago, it does stand to you on the big days like today. Even going to people for advice, my father [John], they were in a replay against Blackrock in the Munster final [in 1985] and everyone was saying their chance had gone too that time. That tradition, that heritage stands for something.” 

They’ll hope that tradition of success counts against the reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions Ballygunner next Sunday at Walsh Park.

“We’ll think about that maybe Tuesday or Wednesday but definitely we’ll be putting our shoulder to the wheel for that. We want to represent Tipperary well and do the county proud and not let all our hard work come to nothing either.”