Aaron Gillane: ‘Roll with the good times while they last. You never want this to end’

Today Patrickswell take on rivals Na Piarsaigh in a heavyweight decider. Victory would mark a sensational season for their leading scorer.

TIMES TO SAVOUR: Patrickswell’s Aaron Gillane is tackled by Na Piarsaigh’s Emmet McEvoy and Conor Boylan in the sides's group meeting. Pic: ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

Some dreams are hard to remember. After firing Patrickswell to the cusp of a Limerick title and the precipice of a fairytale year, Aaron Gillane responded instinctively when reminded of what he scored. Utterly surprised.

He finished with 1-12 from 12 shots against Killmallock, 1-4 from play. Everything about the tie was a shock. The one-sided scoreline, Patrickswell’s dominance, his tally.

“It is hard to know during the game what individuals are racking up,” he replies with a shrug. “A lot of them were frees, weren’t they? We had different players standing up at different times. John Kirby worked his backside off in that game, he didn’t actually get a chance in the first half to do much hurling but then as a result of that hard work, he got good luck and stuck a goal when we needed it in the second half. It is a testament to the team. There is good character here. It is not about relying on two or three people.” 

What a trio they have, all the same. Diarmaid Byrnes was awarded Man of the Match in that semi-final after a towering display at six. Cian Lynch pulled the strings at centre-forward. 

Gillane manned the edge of the square. Two of them are the recent Players of the Year. Gillane is the leading contender to make it a hat-trick for the club.

It still takes a village. Captain Gillane knows that well. The recent spell saw them win a final in 2019 and lose out in 2021. They had ten different scorers last time out. They also had ten in the quarter-final versus Ballybrown.

“Look, for a small village, Patrickswell are blessed to have so many talented hurlers. Everyone is well capable of playing different positions. You see Jordan (Higgins) there at half-forward, he probably comes across as a big workhorse, but he has silky hands, he is well able to throw over a score and can switch between full-forward and the half-forward line. We have options and it is great to have them.” 

Today they take on rivals Na Piarsaigh in a heavyweight decider. Victory would mark a sensational season for their leading scorer. He’s scored 7-45 in the club championship, having hit 3-47 for Limerick in the intercounty championship.

The 27-year-old is now a five-time All-Ireland winner and assured of his fourth All-Star. This runaway train is collecting cargo. He just wants to keep it rolling.

“Coming back from Limerick, you are on a high,” he says with a smile. 

“All you are trying to do is carry that into the club scene, but the lads are not downing tools when the three of us are away. They’ve been driving standards all year. Thankfully they continue to do that since we’ve come back. They are breaking their backsides since February. They are the lads that are really driving this. We are just trying to add on in any way that we can.” 

That they do. In 2019, Gillane broke his jaw several weeks before the final and was clipped again while returning to training. There were doubts over his anticipation until a late medical cert cleared him to play. He nailed six frees. Patrickswell won by five.

Gillane has been good to the club. They have been good to him. After he struggled to make Ard Scoil Ris Harty Cup and Limerick minor teams, it was an awesome season with Patrickswell in 2016 that proved a launchpad. 

In the next 12 months, he went on to clinch an All-Ireland U21 and Player of the Year. The first call came from John Kiely. Ever since it has been an almost incomprehensible rise. 

The days of his life. The obligation now is to savour them.

“I don’t pay too much heed to it. You can’t. I’m lucky, you roll with the good times while they last. You never want this to end. I’m trying to enjoy the moments as they come.

“When you sit back and start thinking over it, that will be the day you have the hurley and helmet hung up. We just want to enjoy it every single day from here on in.”