'Just relief, huge relief': John Kiely pleased with Limerick courage 

Limerick manager John Kiely. Pic: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho

John Kiely brings Limerick back to march behind the band on July 19th.

Speaking shortly after full-time, the Galbally man was full of relief: “Just relief, huge relief. Pride. That took great courage. Clare brought an incredible challenge today, huge energy.” 

Restricting Clare to 1-3 down the closing stretch, it was the first half that had Limerick in trouble. Trailing by as many as seven, the final two points left them with a five-point deficit. He was quick to praise an efficient Clare outfit.

“They condensed the game really well, not surprised by that because we saw it against Tipperary in Thurles – their previous best performance of the season and they worked really hard that night and they brought it again today. Their accuracy was through the roof; I think they had 16 points from 20 shots in that first half, which is an incredible level of accuracy.

"We created 21 chances in the first half but we didn’t think as many, we only took 11. So our accuracy was down in the first half. Some of the chances the lads will be disappointed with, they’d expect to nail them themselves. We reset at half-time, I think we started to dominate but again we didn’t put it on the scoreboard."

Six adrift following Tony Kelly’s converted penalty, the Treaty came up with stops and answers, grinding down the score before the game's defining moment – Aidan O’Connor’s fourth goal of an outstanding season to date.

O’Connor’s quality is undoubted within the setup but delivering is a different matter. 

“That's what you have to do to be able to enjoy being out there. But when you're out there, that's the expectation you have of yourself.” 

O’Connor’s goal, Cathal O’Neill’s points either side of the interval and Adam English’s delivery for that green flag, as well as Shane O’Brien’s efforts in attack were vital to a sixth semi-final win under Kiely.

Limerick’s ‘Gen Z’ certainly have stood up this season, “Look, those young guys have been around the block with us now for a few years. And there were some serious leadership moments from those guys today that I think, even Shane's patience - the ball wasn't coming to him in that second half but when it did, he really made a count.” 

Short captain Cian Lynch, Kiely unleashed the Patrickswell man as Clare pulled six clear as Kelly converted. Not for the first time, the influence of the 30-year-old was cited by Kiely.

“Cian didn't start, he had a bit of a knock the last couple of weeks. And, you know, I thought he gave us great leadership and composure and a great presence in the really tight situations in terms of winning dirty ball, recycling it, retaining it, carrying it. He won a brilliant free, an important free in the middle of the field. I thought Cian had a huge impact, as did the other subs that came on as well. So, look, from our whole group's perspective, it was a very positive performance in terms of our character and our never-say-die attitude. From an execution perspective, we've work to do.” 

Kiely confessed to the press that he walked the dog on Saturday afternoon, as Galway were reaching their first All-Ireland final since 2018. The maroon jersey, however, is now firmly in the sights of Limerick, who chase a 13th title on July 19th.