TJ Ryan facing the executioner

Two managers patrol the Mackey Stand sideline this evening, both haunted by the sense they are on borrowed time.

However, there’s a distinction: Davy Fitzgerald’s head may be in stocks, but TJ Ryan’s rests on an executioner’s block.

In Clare, the jury that seemed so convinced Fitzgerald should be sent to the gallows has now retired for further consideration in the light of new evidence: Dónal Óg Cusack’s appointment and Podge Collin’s return to the panel. News this past week of Paul Kinnerk’s decision to link up with Fitzgerald has further muddied the conviction with which so many had damned the 2013 All-Ireland-winning manager.

Fitzgerald regaining the services of Kinnerk has weakened Ryan’s case. It had been reported locally that Monaleen man Kinnerk was to join his native hurlers along with Joe O’Connor, both of whom were part of Clare’s 2013 winning set-up. The appointment of Rathkeale’s O’Connor is a shrewd one, but the pair would have been a most potent combination.

Of the two, Ryan is the one manager who needs more things going his way. Unlike Fitzgerald, he doesn’t have a board reminding him both publicly and privately that he needs to have his team on their toes from their Division 1B opener against Wexford on February 13. A return to Division 1A would be just the job for Clare, but, for Limerick, a bounce to the top flight for the first time since 2010 is essential, not least for the finances of the county board.

Accosted by an irate supporter after last summer’s qualifier loss to Dublin, Ryan received an early taste of the anger that was to follow at the monthly board meeting three days later. The consensus among seasoned officials was the lack of a platform to the championship lay at the root of Limerick’s problems.

“There’s a false impression after five years in Division 1B,” said former county treasurer Paddy Quilligan. “We didn’t seem to have any more backs to bring on. We won’t win anything unless we’re promoted.”

Chairman Oliver Mann backed up Quilligan: “The championship doesn’t matter at this stage, but everything will fall into place once we get promoted. Teams only progress when they play against top teams.”

The need to finish top of Division 1B was further emphasised by secretary Mike O’Riordan in his annual report: “Unfortunately, we are in Division 1B at the moment and with the help of God, we can get out of Division 1B in the coming season. That would lead to bigger interest, bigger teams coming in and bigger gates. That would increase the revenue.”

The revelation that Limerick’s league revenue dropped 30% from 2014 to €76,614 made for sober consideration at December’s convention. In fairness, the attendance at their most attractive home game against Waterford on Valentine’s night paled in comparison to their 2014 home quarter-final against Galway.

However, what had delegates truly exercised at the annual meeting was the €1m-plus that was spent on preparing the inter-county teams. A rise of over €250,000 from 2014, constituting a bump of almost 50% over the last five years, may have been largely reasoned by the U21s’ All-Ireland success last season. They lost the 2014 Munster quarter-final to Clare, a gap of 14 weeks to the All-Ireland final. The intermediate hurlers also made the provincial final in 2015, but then Ryan’s senior hurlers’ year was truncated in comparison to their 2014 All-Ireland semi-final appearance.

Ryan’s title is bainisteoir, but this spring and without his Na Piarsaigh men he becomes an accountant. After this year, he has another season as part of the three-year deal he was handed after narrowly losing the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final to Kilkenny. It’s generally accepted, though, he will step aside after this season. An All-Ireland title will and should remain his and his players’ primary objective, though they would be forgiven for thinking based on their county board that it’s the league that matters most.

Ryan won’t need to remind himself of how he and then co-manager Donal O’Grady were asked to apologise for “the abysmal” performances in Limerick’s league campaign two years ago.

No act of contrition was required last season, when finishing second to Waterford in Division 1B and haemorrhaging 1-25 to Dublin in a nine-point quarter-final loss.

However, should history repeat itself, he mightn’t be given the chance to repent.