In Gillane absence, Limerick young guns must reprise spring promise
After a string of impactful showings, the new Limerick attacking spine of Aidan O’Connor and Shane O’Brien didn’t enjoy a very fruitful League final outing. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Limerick’s spring had two main themes. In no particular order, you had reinvigoration of the collective and you had a new generation of green leaders announcing their arrival.
Going into the League decider earlier this month, there was no greater demonstration of the increased responsibility assumed by this emerging group of twenty-somethings than the Limerick scoring chart.
All four members of the band - Adam English, Cathal O’Neill, Aidan O’Connor, and Shane O’Brien - occupied a place in the top five highest scorers from across the county’s six round-robin games.
Aaron Gillane was the outlier. The sole representative of the older gang. But even he wasn’t making much of an impression. Limerick’s all-time championship scorer was lagging down in fourth, behind O’Connor, O’Neill, and O’Brien. 'Twas only the midfielder of the emerging crew he had managed to contribute more than.
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It was the emerging crew who steered the Treaty past Galway and into the League decider. It was they who took the plaudits. Gillane’s 1-4 from play could scarcely buy a look-in.
“They're serious guys, great young players. These guys are putting their hands up, performing, and they're leaders themselves,” said Cian Lynch the week of the League final.
Maybe Gillane didn’t fancy the bouquets going elsewhere. Maybe he wasn’t ready for any torch-passing or changing of the guard. Where Limerick had spent the entire spring reminding everyone that they hadn't gone away, Gillane released his own solo version, on vinyl, the afternoon of the League final.
From 13 deliveries sent into his orbit, he struck 1-4 from play, had two further goal efforts saved by Patrick Collins, both of which resulted in converted 65s, and won a converted free. Add in the three frees he nailed himself and that’s 1-10 - directly and indirectly - coming off him.
The spring chart was rewritten. Top of the pops stood Gillane. Another No.1 for his greatest hits album. The torch-passing postponed.
“Marking Aaron Gillane, when that Limerick team is going well, is the hardest time you can have as a defender,” former Cork corner-back Colm Spillane said this week.
“Because they win so many puck outs, you and him are just being peppered with ball, and they’re hitting it into the 50 yards of space in front of you. So, it's probably the toughest task you could have.”
His imprint was of such size on the League’s concluding Sunday that even when Ben O’Connor held court on the run into the Tipp game, the Gillane conundrum, with a view to what was awaiting Cork seven days after Thurles, continued to crop up in conversation.
“No matter what team he's playing against or who he's up against, he's going to get scores. It's just trying to keep that to a minimum, no matter who's marking him. It's nearly impossible if it's one man,” Ben concluded.
The Gillane conundrum does not now need immediate solving. The Limerick Leader’s breaking news of 10pm Thursday night rendered irrelevant the containment planning of the Cork management. It rendered irrelevant so many of the conversations we had this week for a very different piece to the one we’re now penciling.
Whether it was Ciarán Joyce or regular dance partner Seán O’Donoghue who’d have got hurling’s most thankless gig, we’ll never know. What we do know is that for only the third time since the green empire launched in 2018, Gillane will be absent for a Limerick championship game.
The first of those was the one-game suspension from that same 2018 summer after being sent off against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The second was when not used for the dead-rubber against Clare at the end of last year’s round-robin.
Two days as láthair from 49 outings, his has been a remarkable run of consistency. His 18-330 championship total attests to such.
“Aaron is virtually irreplaceable. When he’s on song, he’s unmarkable,” said former Limerick defender Stephen McDonagh on Friday morning.
“They’ve dealt with big injury losses before. Declan Hannon missed an All-Ireland final, Cian missed an All-Ireland final. With Aaron absent, it might change their approach somewhat as he could take any sort of delivery; high, low, left or right.
“And as much as it’s after throwing Limerick, it’s definitely after throwing Cork too because they were working on how to counteract Gillane. A little rejigging for them too.”
Limerick’s proven frontman unavailable, it’s back to the four-piece band.
After a string of impactful showings, the new attacking spine of O’Connor and O’Brien didn’t enjoy a very fruitful League final outing.
O’Connor sent three frees wide and another short before eventually being relieved of long-distance duties. He had a fourth wide from play. Bar an early assist for a Cathal O’Neill point and winning a first-half free he converted, he was largely anonymous from play.
As for O’Brien, we counted eight contests between himself and Joyce. O’Brien was the winner for only one. Both he and O’Connor were sitting in the Mackey Stand by the hour mark. In Gillane’s absence, there’s an onus on them to reprise the arrival announcements of February and early March.
“Along with Cathal and Adam, their time is now,” McDonagh continued.
“Aidan O’Connor had a really good league campaign. Might have been a little bit off it in the League final, but they all have tons of ability.
“Going down into the lion’s den, isn’t that what you strive for. Pressure, we mightn’t all have been able to deal with it on some days, but to be involved in a game like this is what you live for.
“There is a little bit more focus on the four of them because of the age profile of the whole panel. You’ll find out a bit more about them on Sunday because Cork, in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, it’ll be hell for leather.”
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