A whole new ball game at Thomond

John O’Sullivan was standing guard beside the First Division trophy as the launch of the Airtricity League 2013 season drew to a close in the Aviva Stadium yesterday.

Fingering the silverware, he smiled and confessed that the last time he’d touched the cup had been when he drank champagne from it on the night Cork City won the First Division title with a last-gasp victory over Shelbourne at Tolka Park in October 2011.

O’Sullivan was chairman of City then, one of the founding members of the FORAS supporters’ group which had rescued the club when it had been on the verge of extinction. But now, after a season working with Athlone Town, he’s freshly installed as the chief executive of Limerick FC, who themselves are finally back in the top flight after an absence of 19 years.