Maurice Brosnan: In Limerick’s finished picture, all the pieces matter

Limerick's Sports Psychologist Caroline Currid and Mike Casey celebrate after the match. Pic: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

To conclude their victory lap, the entire Limerick setup came together in front of Hill 16. They formed a huddle, every piece of the mosaic whole. The final person to join the circle was John Kiely.

The Limerick manager was caught conducting a post-match interview in the broadcasters' corner when the individuals began to merge. He took off in a full-blooded sprint to make it over in time. Soon after, he finally got his hands on Liam MacCarthy and raised it wildly. Long after every other member of the panel had climbed the steps and lifted it, Kiely gathered his daughters and claimed his moment. How he had earned it.

It wasn't until the clock had turned red that Limerick hit that symbolic target of 30 total points. Cathal O'Neill, having squandered what would have been a glorious move seconds earlier, snapped a shot over to make it 1-27. Aaron Gillane's kick pass back out wasn't capped with the score it deserved and it scarcely mattered.

This was far from a perfect final in what was far from a perfect championship, but all of those imperfections are only distractions in their minds. All that matters in their ordered world is the pattern they are building. Blank out all of the noise and ensure you are in a strong place to be a part of it.

It is why they are so quick to dismiss concepts like fortune or revenge. In the aftermath of the Munster final triumph over Cork, their manager was asked whether they used last year's penalty shootout defeat as motivation. He dismissed the question. That won't sustain you for a season. They had to thrive on much more.

It is also why Kiely routinely hails the extended members for their contribution. It is why that group outside of the 26 emerged from the tunnel before the game in playing gear with their own squad number for the pre-match photo.

Not that all of the other elements do not matter. For the rest of us, it is the point. Drink it in. All over Dublin 3 on this magnificent Sunday morning, there were people radiating with absolute anticipation. You know that palpable energy that charges every expression? It felt like electricity.

On Jones' Road, there were people forming an orderly queue to tip a young busker wearing a Galway jersey. That maroon contingent that typically conquer the back of the Hill were elated when another child partook in a pre-game karaoke with their ballad, The Saw Doctors' N17. A beach ball bounced amongst the limbs.

It is a scene that never gets old. The final is as much about the occasion as it is the fixture. All over, there was well-earned pride in people, in their preparation, their sport, their work.

Walk easy when the jug is full. Galway corner-back Joshua Ryan strode behind the parade with a wide smile as he looked towards that packed terrace. Eight groundskeepers tended to a pristine turf right until throw-in. Just before players assembled for Colm Lyons to throw in the sliotar, Caroline Currid embraced John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk before slipping back into her seat in the Hogan Stand.

Currid's remarkable reputation has only grown stronger and her record is extraordinary. She was involved for the 2018 breakthrough and again for the four-in-a-row at the beginning of this decade. The sports psychologist was absent the three occasions that Limerick were unsuccessful in their All-Ireland bids, in 2019, '24 and '25. When Cian Lynch called out her name during his speech, the roar was deafening. No backroom figure has ever had a reception like it.

But nor is she the silver bullet either. Such narratives are intoxicating to all of us, including members of the fourth estate, but it is not the truth. The strength of this group is their physicality, their athleticism, their skill execution, their unity, their mental resilience and backing. All the pieces matter.

Limerick's Kyle Hayes celebrate’s after the game

It is reflected in everything they do. Mike Casey showed remarkable resolve to persevere when he looked destined to be a first-half substitute after a nightmare opening ten minutes that saw Galway go ahead 0-3 to 0-2, the only time they led in the entire encounter. He fouled Jason Rabbitte three times for three points, his hurl slipped when he tried to deliver his first possession inside and it was turned over. He was switched from Rabbitte to Aaron Niland, who immediately scored off him for their next point.

Yet he dug in and found a way. When the Na Piarsaigh man eventually made his exit on the 53rd minute, he did so to rapturous applause. This was emblematic of their display.

Gearóid Hegarty missed his first three shots, two of them goal chances, and for the second successive game finished without a score. He was immense. It was a puckout on top of him that led to Adam English's first to leave it level. He forced a crucial turnover for a Byrnes free soon after. When a long-range free was moved back beyond Byrnes' limit, he drilled it long to that wing. Hegarty claimed possession and was hauled down by Ronan Glennon for another scorable free.

That willingness to put the team first, to subordinate individual glory to the collective, persisted until the very end. Their last score was laid on a plate for David Reidy by Hegarty.

They hit an astonishing 1-17 from turnovers, compared to Galway's 0-8. How this unit hunts around centre field should be etched on their coat of arms. Every brave ball-carrier in that corridor is fair prey.

From Will O'Donoghue's constant communication and gesturing to the relentless work-rate of their half-forward line to the counter-attack carried by Kyle Hayes, Byrnes and more. It is collective.

Consider their goal. Darren Morrissey was hounded as he broke forward by Adam English. O'Donoghue stood deeper to cover the centre. Byrnes broke the pass across to Darragh Neary. Kyle Hayes gathered possession and immediately, like the world's most perfectly synchronised swimmers, Lynch, English and Hegarty moved horizontally, their arms outstretched, offering themselves for a pass.

Hayes opted to look long instead. Aaron Gillane and Shane O'Brien both broke to the same wing, as they consistently do. That opened the space for O'Neill to burst into. The ball zipped across with pace into his left hand. A sweeping move, a surge from defence to attack and a clinical finish.

On the hour mark, Hegarty won yet another free thanks to a foul by Pádraic Mannion. He began to clap his hurley and was met with a standing ovation from the Green in the Cusack Stand. They rose to their feet and saluted this selfless moment. Because they know, it has been literally spelt out to them, that they have a part to play too.

"Guys, each and every one of ye, there are 37 men there,” said Lynch as he accepted the cup. “From last December, pushed this group. Talk about unity and talk about togetherness, talk about great sportsmen, each and every one of ye are phenomenal people. I want to thank every player for making today possible.” 

What was the defining component behind this side winning their county's 13th All-Ireland? It is a bit like the annual debate about their most important figure. Is it Kiely, Kinnerk or Currid? Lynch, Quaid or Hegarty?

The answer is never or. It is always and. Every piece matters. Sustained excellence at this altitude is never built on one thing. It is about everything. Limerick deserve the greatest compliment you could pay to any squad, the making of any real dynasty: They are the ultimate team.