Gillane the latest Patrickswell hurler to be crowned player of the year

Admitting he’s not a natural talent, Gillane hailed Limerick great Ciaran Carey for turning his game around in his late teens.

Fri, 17 Nov, 2023 - 20:51

John Fogarty

Hurler of the year Aaron Gillane has credited Ciaran Carey among others in Patrickswell for his career.

Admitting he’s not a natural talent, Gillane hailed the Limerick great for turning his game around in his late teens.

“It definitely didn't come to me naturally, no. A lot of it, to be honest, is down to hard work and practice.

“I think by the time I was 19 it was Ciarán Carey's first year over us in 2015 with the seniors and I was a skinny little 19-year-old but Ciarán played me at half-forward.

“And, obviously, at half-forward you have to be some bit of a target for puck-outs. I hadn't a clue what I was doing there for a while until Ciarán pulled me aside one evening and showed me one or two things and talked me through another couple of things.

“What he gave me was a bit of confidence and that's all I needed. After that you just keep working on it and honing those skills as the years go on. Look, it's working now, but I'll have to go back to the drawing board again in January and try to improve on it again.”

The 27-year-old’s game was then propelled under the tutelage of Jamie Wall in Mary Immaculate College. The former Cork minor made him his captain in Gillane’s fourth year there.

“I got great confidence from that. Obviously, you pick up small things from every coach you have, but the confidence that Jamie instilled in me was huge. He made me believe in myself more than anyone else so, again, I'm very thankful to him and grateful that I crossed paths with him.”

Looking back on the season, Gillane feels the draw against Tipperary was a significant result and performance for Limerick.

“In the first couple of matches in Munster we were really under the cosh and people were writing us off a bit. When we played Tipp below in Thurles they were well on top. They were flying it after winning their first game against Clare below in Ennis and they drew with Cork below in Cork, which was no mean feat in itself.

“One thing I really remember in terms of changing the momentum is that Cathal O'Neill threw over three or four points in a row, and there was one from the sideline near the corner that was unbelievable. When that went over, I felt it was a turning point and that we could really kick on from there.”

Gillane says Limerick are aware people question their appetite. “I think it would be a waste of time going back if you weren't as hungry next year as we've been previously. The last couple of years we've been in a privileged position to be the title-holders going into a new year.

“We've kind of gotten used to it since maybe 2018 when the question was would we be able to back it up and win another one. Then it became ‘can they back it up and win two in a row, three in a row, four in a row?”

"We know that narrative is out there and we're not going to shy away from it.”