Month: September 2021

THE ROAD TO hurling stardom was mapped out in advance for some.

On Sunday they will be at the heart of Limerick’s drive to address that 45-year gap since the county grasped the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

But back the years when they first filed through the doors of Ardscoil Rís to commence their second-level education life, their ability as hurlers shone instantly.

“When Shane Dowling came into the school, he was just after winning the All-Ireland Féile skills competition,” recalls Derek Larkin.

“Just an incredible hurler. Then Declan (Hannon) could just do great things with the ball.

“We’ve a primary schools blitz every September between Limerick and Clare schools. It’s kind of unique as you’re going to come up against schools that you wouldn’t normally play.

“We’re 11 or 12 years doing that now and the first player of the tournament that we had was Cian Lynch with Patrickswell. You could see him from 6th class, just phenomenal.

“It’s not surprising. They’ve been winning at schools level and U21 level. I think a lot of people are surprised it’s come so quickly at senior.

“But there’s a fearlessness about them isn’t there?”

There are 11 past pupils at core of the current Limerick playing effort. Mike Casey, Hannon, Lynch and Aaron Gillane started in that extra-time epic against Cork. Dowling, Peter Casey and William O’Donoghue came on as subs.

Peter Casey in action in the 2016 Croke Cup final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Barry Hennessy and Kevin Downes were in reserve that day. David Dempsey and Barry O’Connell are part of the extended squad pushing hard for inclusion. Throw in the coach Paul Kinnerk and selector Brian Geary, and the Ardscoil Rís hurling narrative is intertwined with this Limerick 2018 journey.

They started to make waves in the schools hurling arena over a decade ago with familiar names leading the way.

“The first team we kind of made a breakthrough with was in 2006 we got to the Dean Ryan final,” says Larkin, a teacher in the school for over 25 years.

“That was a team would have had Barry Hennessy, Nicky O’Connell from Clare, Darach Honan, Conor Allis that would have hurled with Limerick. Kevin (Downes) would have hurled then and Tom O’Brien.

“Then Declan captained our team that won the Dean Ryan, our first ever ‘A’ title in 2009. He won a first Harty Cup then in 2010, himself and Shane co-captained the Harty team that won in 2011.

“I still remember those games in 2010, the three when we beat Thurles in the final. I remember every puck of them. Downes was extraordinary. Shane went from centre-forward to centre-back. Hannon went into the forward line for a while. You’d pick those guys out way back then from a mile away.”

The inter-county roles are not just restricted to Limerick. Situated on the North Circular Road in the city, they are close to the border with Banner country. There has always been a steady Clare influx.

Past students Jamie Shanahan and Ian Galvin nearly helped propel them past Galway recently. Cathal McInerney would have been involved this season but for injury while Darach Honan, Conor Ryan and O’Connell were celebrated as Clare triumphed in 2013.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

Then there are the current links. Clare defender Paul Flanagan and coach Liam Cronin are both teaching in Árdscoil. Diarmuid Ryan, the figure of brilliance on the school’s Harty Cup winning side in February, had a couple of run outs with the Clare senior team earlier this year.

A dream All-Ireland final pairing nearly emerged but for Galway standing firm in Thurles.

“Had Clare gone through it would have been a dream final in many ways and on the other side you’d be looking at one team losing and the disappointment there,” says Larkin.

“There’d have been great craic obviously if both of them got through but there’d have also been this fear of losing, neither team would want to lose the other. That said it’s definitely a match I would have looked forward to.”

Larkin is a native of Tullamore, his work life seeing him immersed in Limerick hurling and living in Quin exposes him to Clare hurling.

Derek Larkin speaks to Ardscoil Rís players.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“When I looked at Offaly in the 90s, the school teams, you had Birr Community School winning an All-Ireland, Banagher Vocational School getting to an All-Ireland final. They had three minor titles won and the senior titles came out of that.

“If you take other than the Ardscoil lads, you have Tom Morrissey, Barry Nash, Richie English, (Darragh) O’Donovan, they all played Harty Cup with other schools. Doon got to a final, we beat them one year. Castletroy were beaten in a semi-final another year. Those schools have all made progress and it’s exposed lads to an intensity of game and training.

“That’s not the reason Limerick are in an All-Ireland final but to me Limerick have all their ducks in a row. They’ve a brilliant underage setup, development squads, the colleges are doing very well, the club scene with Na Piarsaigh and Kilmallock reaching All-Ireland finals. Those guys they’ve won so much coming up all along.”

Ardscoil’s first Harty Cup crown arrived in 2010 in their maiden final appearance. They added titles in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018, yet to lose a decider in Munster. Talented hurlers have come through the system, Ardscoil a part that have contributed to the health of the sport in Limerick.

Kevin Downes in action for Ardscoil Rís in 2010.

Source: Cathal Noonan

If they are viewed as a school that relentlessly produces talented players, then it is due to the work of several.

“Liam Cronin, Niall Crowe, Niall Moran, Victor Leyden, Cormac O’Donovan, Paul Flanagan, Orlaith Reidy and Fergal Lyons have all done huge work. This year’s Harty team had Damien Gillane (Aaron’s father) and Barry Hennessy.

“Barry has come back to us now for the last three or four years, working with Harty Cup teams. Totally on his own bat. He’s a sales rep, does a bit of strength and conditioning coaching as well. He’s been invaluable.

“We wouldn’t have won anything without that kind of expertise and help coming in. We’ve an enthusiastic and hard working group of staff members. We’re trying to put out as many teams as possible in the various age groups.

“But it wouldn’t be possible without them or the help of the clubs. We’re literally working off one pitch. We’re very lucky, Na Piarsaigh are always very helpful, Patrickswell, Meelick in Clare, all very generous.”

Niall Moran celebrates after a Dr Harty Cup final victory.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

In Larkin’s eyes, this all started with one man. Liam Kennedy passed away in April 2017 after an illness. A native of Cloughjordan in Tipperary, he taught in the school and laid a hurling platform. His son Padraic was between the posts when Na Piarsaigh won the All-Ireland club title in 2016 and lost narrowly in the final replay last March.

“I started in the school 25 years ago and Liam Kennedy, he drove the thing on, there would be no hurling in Ardscoil without him,” says Larkin.

“A teacher in the school, very involved with Na Piarsaigh for underage for donkeys years as well. Just a great way about him. He was in the school, retired a couple of years ago, unfortunately passed away last year after illness.”

Hurling may have risen in status but it co-exists with rugby rather than overshadow it. This is the alma mater of Paul O’Connell, Sean Cronin and Dave Kilcoyne, evidence of a rich tradition.

Munster rugby legend Paul O’Connell.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“I would’ve taught Paul up to junior level,” recalls Larkin.

“Paul can put his hand to anything, no fear of him. A gentleman. We certainly encourage lads to play as much sport as possible up to Junior Cert and then after that they make a choice. At the level we’re trying to promote it within a school, it’s not possible to play both beyond that.

“Conor Fitzgerald played a minor All-Ireland with Limerick (in 2014), brilliant hurler, has a Harty Cup medal. A very good forward for us. Conor is an exceptional rugby player.

“His brother Stephen actually played both with us. Played Harty, he was unlucky now, it was the year Nenagh beat us in a replay of a semi-final. He played wing-back. He’s a Munster contract, Conor has a Munster contract.

“There has been a few down through the years that have played both. At the end of the day, if a fella is excelling at one, you’re not going to stand in his way.”

Stephen Fitzgerald in action for Munster against Ulster.

Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland

They’ve thrived in Munster hurling circles but the All-Ireland series has been a tougher nut to crack. St Kieran’s are the benchmark, the aristocrats that have beaten Ardscoil Rís teams after each of their Harty Cup triumphs, including three All-Ireland final successes.

After those setbacks at the hands of Kilkenny teams, the tide has turned of late. Last September, Limerick won the All-Ireland U21 crown against Kilkenny with Lynch, Gillane and Casey playing, along with others past pupils Ronan Lynch, Thomas Grimes and Conor Boylan. That was the precursor for that landmark senior championship win for a Limerick outfit over Kilkenny in July.

And now they are a game away from the ultimate prize in hurling.

In 2013 the school brought back the Clare All-Ireland winners and Limerick Munster winners for a celebration of the hurling achievement of their former students, Marty Morrissey the MC for a novel event.

Kevin Downes, Shane Dowling, Alan Dempsey, Niall Moran and Declan Hannon with the Munster hurling trophy in 2013.

Paul Kinnerk, Darach Honan, Conor Ryan, Nickey O’Connell and Cathal McInerney with the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2013.

A Limerick win on Sunday would be a feat of a different scale.

“All those guys on the Limerick panel, we’ve dragged out of them so much since they’ve left school,” says Larkin.

“You bring them back for medal presentations or help out with the blitz. They come in, sign autographs, talk to younger teams, even take the odd session here or there.

“They’ve been great role models, no different to what Paul O’Connell is. There’s none of those guys that you would hear anyone say a bad word about.

“Sport adds to it in a school. It gives you a different relationship with them, I suppose we’ve got to know those guys way more than we could possibly do just as a teacher.

“If Limerick pull it off, there’s no doubt about it, we’ll have all the lads in the school as soon as we can. There’ll be great excitement. To see Declan going up the steps of the Hogan Stand would be fairytale stuff. I’ve a great affiliation with all of those lads but the lads who made the breakthrough for us first – Dowling, Downes, Hannon and these guys – they set the mark for everybody.

“We lifted the roof off the place in 2013 when we’d the Clare lads and the Limerick lads in. The place would go mental if Limerick won the All-Ireland. It would be incredible, a dream come true. Just brilliant for them.”

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IT HAS BEEN a momentous few months in the life of Cork scoring machine, Orla Cotter.

On 26 May, she got married to Mark and the couple embarked on a dream honeymoon, taking in Canada and then Alaska, mixing it with bears, elk and moose, revelling in the breath-taking scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Tongass National Forest.

At the end of July, Cotter turned 30, or ‘hit a new decade’ as she describes it with a chuckle.

This may mark a new phase in her life but as of now, very little is changing. Cotter and her new husband were back on Irish turf on Wednesday. She was training with Cork on Thursday. The winner of six All-Irelands and five All-Stars helped the Rebels reach another Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final and doesn’t envisage drawing the curtain down on her 13-season career just yet.

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“You know it’s going to come to an end at some stage” muses Cotter. “I suppose as long as the body is okay, you’re enjoying it, you’ll keep tipping away for a while.

“I’d hate to leave because of injury is the only thing. I’d prefer to leave on my own terms but we’ll see. Obviously, there’s only a few more years left in it so we’ll take it year by year and we’ll see what happens.”

It is unusual for inter-county camogie players to have their nuptials during the summer but the St Catherine’s star, renowned as one of the most selfless operators around, decided to put herself first for once.

“We looked at that but this was the only time we could go away for a decent length of time after. At Christmas, we’d just about get two weeks so we said we’d go. We headed to Canada and did a cruise around Alaska then. It was class.

“You only, hopefully, get married once so we just said we’d do it. I’ve three months off every summer and I’ve never gone away so I just said we’d do it this summer and luckily it’s worked out. I was away for the first game against Wexford. I came back the Wednesday before the Dublin game and knew obviously I wouldn’t be playing for that but I’ve been back into it since then.”

Cork have been racking up eye-watering tallies through the group stages, completing the five games with 15 goals and 100 points. A total of 15 individuals have contributed to that tally, which works out at an average of 3-20 a game. That depth is why Cotter herself has not been assured of a starting place since her return.

“We worked a lot on attacking play but also on defending. Every session we’re trying to improve something from the last session. They’re great at motivating us in that way, (hurling coach) Kevin Murray and Mazzer (S & C coach Martin O’Brien), to get us to improve our standards.

“Throughout the championship, (manager) Paudie (Murray)’s been trying a few different things. We have a lot of players and there’s going to be a lot of competition for places. We’ve plenty of forwards that can come in and get on the scoresheet easily. Likewise, there’s competition in the back as well. Hopefully trying things out, we’ll have different options.

“Everyone goes out to play their best but it doesn’t always work out and it’s great to have people to call on that know the job and know what to do. Throughout the championship, loads of people got loads of game time so it shouldn’t be a big surprise if they’re called upon.”

The heroine of last September’s All-Ireland success, Julia White has re-established herself as a regular having endured a horrific number of injuries. White is joint leading goalscorer in the championship with four goals (a tally she shares with Tipperary’s Cáit Devane). Though a rival for a spot in the front eight, Cotter is pleased for the former skipper.

“It’s fantastic. I’m delighted for Julia. She puts a lot of time and work into it and has had a terrible few years with all the injuries, especially that Achilles injury she had a few years ago. I’m delighted for her to get back. She brings an awful lot of work rate, energy and she has great passion for it as well so it’s great to have her around the place.”

In action in last year’s All-Ireland final.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

The aforementioned Kevin Murray has been name-checked regularly by the players for the quality of his coaching.

In a recent interview in the Irish Examiner, Gemma O’Connor explained how her long-distance equaliser on the hour that preceded White’s injury-time winner in last year’s All-Ireland Final, was the result of the work the former All-Ireland-winning hurler had done with the team. It was Cotter who provided the last, accurate stick pass.

“It’s something Kevin has definitely brought to her play. If it’s not on, you keep possession, you don’t just get rid of it, you recycle it. The shot might open up for someone else and that day we were lucky it was Gemma – it was a monster of a point and only Gemma O’Connor would score it.

“It’s definitely something we’re trying to do, use possession carefully, make use of the ball rather than just get rid of it for the sake of it.”

Tipperary are familiar opposition. When Cotter came into the panel first in 2006, it was Tipp and Cork who were the superpowers of camogie. Indeed she claimed her first All-Ireland medal in that debut season, at the expense of the Premiers, coming on as a second-half sub for Angela Walsh.

“I remember anytime we ever played Tipp, I remember the likes of Philly Fogarty, Claire Grogan, Eimear McDonnell – they’d unbelievable talent. There was always fierce rivalry between Cork and Tipp and you never knew what way it was gonna go. Everything was left out on the field in those days.”

And tomorrow’s opponents?

“Tipp had a good win over Waterford in the quarter-final. We met them three or four times already this year between the League, Munster Championship and the round-robin, so we know each other fairly well.

“There’s always traditionally been a good rivalry between Cork and Tipp and the All-Ireland semi-final will be no different. Tipp will on their home patch in Thurles and they’ll have plenty of support. And they have some very good quality players in Cáit Devane, Orla O’Dwyer and Mary Ryan. They’re not lacking in experience at all and they’ll be out to win. It’s not every year you get to a semi so when you do you want to make the most of it.

“For us, it’s the first game this year where if you lose, you’re out. It’s the part of the season you want to be playing in. You wanna be there or thereabouts at this time of year and we’re delighted that we are. We’re not looking beyond Tipp. We can’t.”

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EQUALITY OF MEN and women in sport is something that’s been discussed to no end for as long as I can remember.

That gap between the two, the differences, the inequality more than anything. I do think it is getting better though, there is much more parity than before.

I can only speak from my own experiences but with the Cork senior ladies footballers, we are treated very equally to the boys. We get food after training, we’re kitted out from top to bottom in training gear, and other things from facilities to physios — we have the best on offer too.

It’s the same with Cork City. We’re merged with the men so it’s very equal. Likewise we have all the same gear, we look the same as them going to matches, use the same facilities and resources and what not.

I do feel that it’s getting so much better than before and there’s only bigger and better things to come as well.

When I started out there weren’t even girls teams at underage level. The difference a few years brings. For instance, two weeks ago we were down in Fermoy doing Cork LGFA camps. Orla Farmer runs it — a Gaelic football summer camp for girls, the interest is unbelievable.

There were 220 kids there from the age of six or seven to the age of 15. It was absolutely fantastic to see such interest and such a great set-up. It brought me back to when I was that age, when there would only be a handful of girls and the rest consisted of boys. It’s great to see how it has developed for the girls.

Of course there has been a good few reasons why girls’ sport has become more popular over the years; the facilities in clubs and media coverage, especially TG4 who show the games live. Girls have proven over the last couple of years that they can achieve as much as the boys. Rena Buckley is a prime example.

Look at Ireland at the Hockey World Cup. No one gave them a chance and they brought home a silver medal, what an achievement. The amount of trophies and medals girls are winning at the moment and the feats they are achieving are incredible. Last year’s All-Ireland ladies football finals and that 46,286 attendance in Croke Park — the biggest attendance ever in Europe at a women’s sporting event.

It’s crazy for an amateur sport to have that, it’s so cool though and amazing that we’re all involved.

Cork weren’t there on the day last year but the journey to hopefully play in Croke Park on 16 September 2018 has been going to plan so far this time around. That said, we have one massive, massive step left in playing Donegal in the semi-final.

We’ve trained so hard for so long and met all of our championship aims and goals to date. Obviously we took every game as it came, but each hurdle has been difficult to clear. There have been some big score differences but no game has been easy by any means.

Every side we’ve met has been good, each game has been tough and we’ve gone to the very last minute trying to put scores on the board. We want to show everyone what we’re about: we’re here to do everything we can to get into an All-Ireland final, to win it, and that we’re well able for that.

Donegal is going to be a huge test, we’re well aware of that. It’s going to be a great game involving two good sides. But I think if we do play to our potential, no one will stop us.

To play in Croke Park — I’ve never done it, it’s well up on the bucket list! — and hopefully get a win there is the dream. But we won’t get carried away yet, there’s a huge amount still to be done.

We’ll keep training away as we have been — both as a team and as individuals — and I’ll continue to work on the balance between Gaelic and soccer.

This is my last column for The42. I really enjoyed the experience and I would like to thank everyone who read them over the last 12 weeks and I hope that some of the experiences, insights and training plans I’ve shared have been of interest.

And to finish — I hope the next time I’m on The42 it’s an interview after winning the All-Ireland final!

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CORK LEGEND BRIEGE Corkery has ended an exile of almost two years to return to the champions’ panel for tomorrow’s Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final with Tipperary at Semple Stadium.

Corkery hasn’t played for the Rebels since the 2016 All-Ireland final defeat to Kilkenny and last donned the red jersey when the Leesiders made it six-in-a-row in the ladies football championship.

The Cloughduv dynamo stepped away in 2017 as a six-time All-Star and former Player of the Year, stating that she was no longer enjoying inter-county duties, but never announced her retirement.

The 31-year-old continued to line out for her club until becoming pregnant and she and her husband Diarmuid Scannell celebrated the birth of their son Tadhg in April.

Corkery quickly regained her fitness after returning to club action but her inclusion as number 25 on the Cork team list comes as a major surprise.

A joint Sportswoman of the Year with Rena Buckley, Corkery now has the opportunity to rejoin her great friend as the most successful All-Ireland winner in Gaelic Games history.

Buckley moved ahead when garnering her 18th medal as captain when Cork won the All-Ireland camogie title last September and announced her retirement this year.

That decider was the first time Corkery had not shared the glory with Buckley, as together they had previously garnered six camogie and 11 ladies football championship crowns.

Other notable selections on the Cork team are the positioning of Gemma O’Connor at centre-back, having spent a lot of the summer around midfield, and Pamela Mackey in the full-back line, possibly with a view to picking up the Championship’s leading scorer, Cáit Devane.

Six-time All-Ireland winner and five-time All-Star Orla Cotter, who missed the start of the Championship after getting married and going on her honeymoon, has been named on the bench.

📢 TEAM NEWS: Huge news as Cork legend and 6-time All-Ireland winner Briege Corkery returns to intercounty Camogie as she's named on the @CorkCamogie bench for tomorrow's @LibertyIRL All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Finals showdown with @camogietipp #GoTogether pic.twitter.com/EhnrRUnSdp

— Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) August 17, 2018

There are no real surprises as Tipp boss Bill Mullaney sticks with the team that started their hard-fought quarter-final victory over Waterford, though Sarah Fryday must have been pushing hard for a berth in the attack.

Kilkenny play Galway in the opening semi-final and the selection of former captain Anna Farrell at full-forward by Ann Downey is eye-catching.

While the Thomastown athlete would represent a real challenge for Galway skipper Sarah Dervan if retained at the edge of the square, it would not surprise anyone were she to drop deeper and allow her sister Meighan, who has been named at midfield, fall back towards centre-back.

This in turn would enable Anne Dalton to adopt the sweeper role she has excelled at since 2016, both in terms of cutting off supply to opposition forwards and delivering quality to her own.

Cathal Murray has made one change in personnel to the Galway team that defeated Dublin by 16 points in the quarter-final, with Róísín Black coming in at right half-back for Emer Helebert.

GALWAY (v Kilkenny): Sarah Healy, Shauna Healy, S Dervan, T Kenny, R Black, H Cooney, L Ryan, A M Starr, N Kilkenny, A Donohue, C Cormican, N McGrath, C Dolan, A O’Reilly, N Coen. Subs: S Burke, E Helebert, R Hennelly, F Keely, C Walsh, C Murphy, S McGrath, N Hanniffy, L Freaney, M Skehill, A Lynskey, O McGrath, L Burke, N Horan, C Daly.

KILKENNY (v Galway): E Kavanagh, C Dormer, C Foley, G Walsh, C Phelan, A Dalton, D Tobin, D Gaule, M Farrell, S Farrell, K Power, J Malone, M Walsh, A Farrell, M Quilty. Subs: J Frisby, M Teehan, J Clifford, A Doyle, D Morrissey, R Phelan, E Keane, G O’Donnell, N Deely, K Doyle.

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CORK (v Tipperary): A Murray, L O’Sullivan, L Treacy, P Mackey, L Coppinger, G O’Connor, C Sigerson, J White, A Thompson, A O’Connor, O Cronin, L Collins, K Mackey, N McCarthy, H Looney. Subs: A Lee, A Sheehan, L Homan, S Hutchinson, L Hayes, S McCarthy, N O’Callaghan, O Cotter, S Beausang, B Corkery.

TIPPERARY (v Cork): C Bourke, J A Bourke, G Grace, C Quirke, C Mullaney, K Kennedy, Mary Ryan, L Loughnan, E Fryday, Ciarda Maher, Caoimhe Maher, O O’Dwyer, G O’Brien, C Devane, R Cahill. Subs: S Quigley, S Fryday, E Loughman, C Walsh, Megan Ryan, M Campion, J Kelly, A McGrath, E McDonnell, C Hennessy.

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GALWAY HURLING MANAGER Micheal Donoghue has named his starting team to face Limerick in the All-Ireland senior hurling championship final on Sunday.

Gearoid McInerney has recovered from injury to start at centre-half back for the Croke Park showdown (throw-in 3.30pm, live on RTÉ / Sky Sports) as the Tribesmen look to make it back-to-back titles.

His Oranmore-Maree clubmate Niall Burke is the player to make way to facilitate the change while Joseph Cooney has been restored to the half-forward line.

McInerney came off in the 53rd minute of Galway’s first All-Ireland semi-final clash against Clare. He was named to start in the 1-17 to 2-13 replay win but a late pre-match change saw that switched.

Last year, the Tribe lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup for the first time since 1988, and on Sunday they’ll hope to repeat the feat of back-to-back titles last done in 1987 and ’88.

Limerick meanwhile, have also shown their hand.

Galway

1. James Skehill (Cappataggle)

2. Adrian Tuohy (Beagh)
3. Daithi Burke (Turloughmore)
4. John Hanbury (Rahoon-Newcastle)

5. Padraig Mannion (Ahascragh/Fohenagh)
6. Gearoid McInerney (Oranmore-Maree)
7. Aidan Harte (Gort)

8. Johnny Coen (Loughrea)
9. David Burke (St Thomas’) — captain

10. Joseph Cooney (Sarsfields)
11. Joe Canning (Portumna)
12. Jonathan Glynn (Ardrahan)

13. Conor Whelan (Kinvara)
14. Conor Cooney (St Thomas)
15. Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh-Fohenagh)

@Galway_GAA senior hurling team named for @officialgaa All Ireland senior hurling final with Limerick! @SupermacsIRE #gaillimhabú pic.twitter.com/NME7zgHwBP

— Tribesmen GAA (@TribesmenGAA) August 17, 2018

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GALWAY AND KILKENNY have shown their hand for their 2018 All-Ireland minor hurling final showdown in Croke Park on Sunday (throw-in 1pm, live on TG4).

The Tribesmen are reigning champions — they beat Cork in last year’s decider — and are contesting their third final at this grade in four years.

They’ve made one change to the starting side that beat Dublin by 15 points in the semi-final — Padraig Pearses’ Oisin Flannery replaces Sean McDonagh at centre-half forward.

Kilkenny meanwhile are in their first All-Ireland minor hurling final since 2014. The Cats beat Tipperary in the last four clash to seal their date with the holders at HQ.

They’ve also made one personnel change to the fifteen that started that day — Killian Hogan comes into the full-forward line in place of Dan Coogan while there are several positional changes in attack.

Galway

1. Patrick Rabbitte (Athenry)

2. Michael Flynn (Ballygar)
3. Shane Jennings (Ballinasloe)
4. Oisin Salmon (Clarinbridge)

5. Shane Quirke (Athenry)
6. Sean Neary (Castlegar) — captain
7. Evan Duggan (St.Thomas’)

8. Jason O’Donoghue (Gort)
9. Oisin Flannery (St.Thomas’)

10. Diarmuid Kilcommins (Annaghdown)
11. Oisin Flannery (Padraig Pearses)
12. Adam Brett (Killimordaly)

13. Niall Collins (Cappataggle)
14. Donal O’Shea (Salthill-Knocknacarra)
15. Dean Reilly (Padraig Pearses)

Kilkenny

1. Jason Brennan (Young Irelands)

2. Pádraig Dempsey (Mullinavat)
3. Jamie Young (O’Loughlin Gaels)
4. Dylan Crehan (Dunnamaggin)

5. Darragh Maher (St. Lachtains)
6. Shane Staunton (Clara)
7. Jamie Harkin (Bennettsbridge)

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8. Conor Kelly (O’Loughlin Gaels)
9. Cian Kenny (James Stephens)

10. Ciarán Brennan (Bennettsbridge)
11. Jack Buggy (Erins Own)
12. George Murphy (Rower Inistioge)

13. Cathal O’Leary (St. Lachtains)
14. Jack Morrissey (St. Patricks)
15. Killian Hogan (Mooncoin)

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BEFORE THE BRIGHT lights of All-Ireland final day, there are always those moments of hardship.

At the outset of 2017, Limerick were trying to get things going as the John Kiely era began.

Their first afternoon out on their home turf saw Cork arrive to the Gaelic Grounds. It was January hurling, it was a low-key pre-season game but shipping 7-22 still stood out as Limerick fell to a 21-point loss.

Shane O’Neill had managed Na Piarsaigh to the All-Ireland club title the previous year, working closely with Clare native Alan Cunningham.

He knew the quality of coaching Cunningham would bring but still couldn’t resist getting in contact that night.

“He went in as a ‘goalkeeping coach’, that was his title first with Limerick,” laughs O’Neill.

“Cork got seven goals, so I waited until about nine o’clock that night and text him, how’s the goalkeeping coaching going?

“Look Alan’s a fabulous coach, I’m not surprised he’s been part of Limerick’s success.”

Cunningham is one of the adjutants to Kiely as Limerick’s hurling general. He had a role in paving the way for another to be introduced to coaching.

At the end of 2009, Gerry O’Connor and Donal Moloney faced an uncertain managerial future after an early championship exit with the Clare minor side. They reckoned they needed a change of direction and sought to draft in a new coach. Cunningham was their first port of call.

He resisted, reluctant to get involved for 2010 with his son Aaron set to be involved. O’Connor and Moloney demanded he provide an alternative. Cunningham suggested Paul Kinnerk, a PE and Maths teacher in St Caimin’s, who had done roles with school teams and Sixmilebridge underage sides alongside Sean Stack.

It kickstarted a golden era for Clare hurling. Between 2010 and 2014, an All-Ireland senior, three All-Ireland U21 triumphs and five Munster titles at various grades, arrived in that time frame.

Kinnerk was heavily involved in directing those victories. Now he’s integral to Limerick being on the brink of ending a 45-year wait for All-Ireland glory.

And Cunningham, who has had spells coaching Clare and Offaly senior teams, is alongside him steering Limerick on a remarkable 2018 journey that has one more hurdle to surmount.

“What Paul used to do a lot of time, and I assume what he still does, a big part of the teachings was game-based training, where an awful lot of the drills you do is a compacted game with less numbers and less space to move,” recalls Clare’s 2013 All-Ireland winning captain Pat Donnellan.

“That’s something he did bring in, made us more comfortable on the ball, made us more assured in our own thinking and gave you the confidence that the decisions you were to make on the field were going to be right.

Former Clare hurling trainer Paul Kinnerk.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“There’s always a lot going on with Paul. He’s just one of those fellas, he has a love for it. He was very unlucky himself I suppose with injuries in his own playing career.

“I think he just has a natural flair for it too. He puts a huge amount of work into it so I don’t think it comes that easy to him but I think how he applies himself, then it comes easy. It’s more a love for him than a labour.

“He just has a natural grá for it and a personality how to deal with players. He’s a young guy too which helps. He’s a teacher as an awful lot of the top coaches are at the moment, used to dealing with people in groups and small surroundings and younger people.”

When Donnellan first embarked on his Clare career in 2006, it was Cunningham that was tutoring him.

“Another fella I’ve a huge amount of time for. Obviously father of Aaron who I would have played with.

“He would have been doing an awful lot of the things that Paul would, in different stages at the start. A really excellent hurling coach and again another excellent fella to have in the backroom team.”

When Kinnerk was filling his Clare coaching roles, he was juggling an involvement with the Limerick senior footballers under Maurice Horan and winning a couple of county titles with Monaleen.

“Paul played football and actually hurling with us in the school,” remembers Derek Larkin, a teacher and hurling coach in Ardscoil Rís.

“We’d very rarely have had a football team, it’s facilities, it’s manpower and all the rest.

“But the year that Paul was doing his Leaving Cert, we did enter the Limerick colleges and won both of them, we’d a decent football team.

“We came across Paul in 2009 when he was teaching in St Caimin’s and he was over the team that beat us in the Harty semi-final after a replay. Podge Collins would have been on that team.

“The following year we went and we beat them and we won the Harty Cup. So we knew at that stage, Paul’s credentials as a coach.

“The work that he’s done with Davy Fitz, any of the Clare lads would tell you it’s been phenomenal. Obviously now with Limerick he’s doing a great job. Anyone you talk to has great things to say about him.

“I think Limerick were foolish they didn’t nab him a lot earlier than they did. You can see the respect that the lads have for him.”

When Shane O’Neill took the managerial reins in Na Piarsaigh in 2014, it was a couple of years after he had finished up playing. He knew the pool of talent that was there and just had to figure out a way to tap into it.

Getting the right coach was crucial. He didn’t know Cunningham personally but his father Mick, a Clare native, had informed him about his capabilities.

In 1997 Cunningham guided Wolfe Tones to a St Patrick’s Day decider, where they fell just short against Galway’s Athenry. Almost two decades on, he was celebrating with a group that delivered Limerick’s maiden All-Ireland senior club crown.

Na Piarsaigh players celebrate their 2016 All-Ireland club final victory.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

They nearly claimed a second title in March, losing out after a pulsating replay to Cuala in Portlaoise.

“My father would have known him a lot better that I did but I knew he was a fantastic coach,” says O’Neill.

“There was myself, Kieran Bermingham – who was the captain in 2011 – and Alan and Darragh Droog, that was the management team we started off with and kept for the four years.

“Just felt then after the four years, hitting into a fifth year as a management team is too long. We just felt new boys, new system, new management, the players needed that themselves.

“The boys loved Alan. He’s a real hurling coach. His training was absolutely superb. We just set out as a management team what they needed to deal with, and then Alan would implement it in the trainings. Fantastic and very popular with the lads as well.

“The reason he said to me he wanted to even get involved as ‘a goalkeeping coach’, he wanted to see how inter-county coaching had moved on.

“He still wants to learn. He’s at the other end of his coaching career and brought something new to the boys all the time over the four years.”

Tomorrow the pair aim to be part of a group that are toasted by the Limerick hurling faithful.

Donnellan is not surprised to see Kinnerk involved with another setup in a decider or that Cunningham continues to coach at an elite level.

Alan Cunningham was involved with Wolfe Tones in the 1997 All-Ireland club final.

Source: © Matt Browne/INPHO

“Anyone that’s relevant in anything, whether it’s sport or business, they have an ability to change themselves or take things on board.

“They definitely have a strong grain going through them of how they want to play and their basic ideas of the game of hurling. When they meet someone else or go to a new team or new age group, they can adapt then very quickly.

“Modern players are coached to really high standard underage and it just follows through to senior. You’re just topping it off, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

“Paul and Alan are very astute guys, very good at what they do and very well liked. I think those qualities make sure the group is tight and have confidence with each other. That’s what Limerick are showing these days.”

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TIPPERARY LADIES FOOTBALL manager Shane Ronayne will be on taxi duty tonight, on the eve of his side’s crunch relegation final against Cavan in the TG4 All-Ireland senior championship.

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In order to accommodate Tipp dual star Orla O’Dwyer, the relegation clash was scheduled for Sunday in Virginia, but Ronayne has taken it upon himself to ensure one of his key players gets to Cavan in one piece.

The rest of the Tipperary squad will make the trip north on Saturday afternoon, and Ronayne is just happy to have the Boherlahan player there to boost their chances of avoiding an immediate return to the intermediate grade.

“It’s not ideal going to Cavan. But it was the only option on the table, it was either play without Orla on Saturday or play with her in Cavan on Sunday,” said Ronayne.

“She is delighted to be able to play the game. The team travel up on Saturday, but I’m going to wait for Orla and bring her up after the game and she is looking forward to it.”

Defeat to Waterford in last weekend’s play-off means Tipp now have to go again to maintain their top-flight status, which was only earned 12 months ago with victory over Tyrone in the TG4 intermediate decider.

Relegation would be a huge blow to the Lidl NFL Division 2 champions, Ronayne agrees.

“We were very disappointed on Saturday evening; we just didn’t perform. Maybe we were over confident after playing well against Donegal.

“We did a lot of soul searching but we met on Tuesday and the girls were in great form and we trained really well. We know this is last chance saloon.

“It would be a severe blow to be an intermediate team playing Division 1 next year and I don’t know how that would go down. Anything could happen if things don’t go our way: players or management could step away.

“It’s a strange position to be in after the good start we made to the year. The prize for winning on Sunday is huge: it’d be like winning an All-Ireland final all over again.”

On the other side of the fence Cavan have also had a tough summer and have not won a game at all since their league semi-final victory over Waterford in April. After that win, they went on to face Tipp in the league final where one point separated the teams.

Tipperary manager Shane Ronayne.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

Cavan manager James Daly knows his side face a tough test in their fight to avoid the drop.

“It has been a tough summer. When you are drawn with Dublin and Mayo in the same group and then face another Division 1 team in the play-off it’s tough,” said Daly.

“The scoreboard doesn’t lie but we had four goal chances against Monaghan and if we had taken them it would have put them under pressure.

“We played Tipp in the league final and lost by a point on the day. People talk about revenge, but when your backs are against the wall you see the character of a team. If we want it bad enough we’ll go out and put in a performance worthy of staying in senior football.

“Relegation is always a blow, and if we go down we’ll be professional about it. We’ll regroup but in general it’s not something we want.”

On the injury front, Tipperary’s Laura Dillon is definitely out with a knee injury, while Cavan continue to plan without the services of Mona Sheridan, Joanne Moore and Bronagh Sheridan.

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BRIEGE CORKERY WILL not be the only player who has recently become a mother striding into battle in the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-finals at Semple Stadium today.

Kilkenny’s Anne Dalton in action.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

While the Cork legend makes a dramatic comeback after an almost two-year absence from the big time and having grown accustomed to a new life with her four-month-old son, one of the greatest Kilkenny players of the modern era, Anne Dalton, is still getting used to her parental role.

Dalton’s partner, former Waterford All-Ireland winner Karen Kelly gave birth to Tadhg (a name he shares with Corkery’s boy) two weeks ago yesterday.

The last fortnight has certainly opened up a side to Dalton she wasn’t sure existed, but is definitely embracing.

She feared that she might not possess the maternal instinct, the blind, unconditional love for her child but the doubt washed away within a nanosecond of Karen delivering a 4.25kg (more than 9lbs 3ozs) bundle of joy.

The 30-year-old from Freshford had to return to the Bank of Ireland branch in Kilkenny on Thursday and Kelly was under orders to keep the supply of photos and videos rolling. She was also to bring Tadhg in so they could go for a walk after work when she needed to stick around for training.

None of this should be mistaken for a reduction in the famous focus and thoughtfulness when it comes to today’s clash with Galway however. Anyone hoping for a dilution of the Dalton drive should not count on the prospect.

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For a start, even though Tadhg is sleeping for five or six hours at a time, she has spent the last four nights in the spare room, to ensure that she has the rest needed for what she expects is a tumultuous challenge. As a former elite player herself, it is a necessity that her partner gets. Such understanding is crucial and that support will ensure that the change to her domestic situation will not precipitate a premature retirement.

“Karen used play with Waterford, so she knows. I’ve often said I don’t know if anyone who didn’t play camogie would be able to be with me. I appreciate everything she does and puts up with. She doesn’t get to do stuff because I’m not able to do stuff but she understands.

“I ended up missing two training sessions before Tadhg was born. He was born on Friday and the Saturday session was coming around. She turned to me and said ‘You have to go training.’ She was still in hospital and I didn’t want to leave.

Kelly lining out for Waterford in 2011.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“I said ‘Are you sure?’

“She said ‘You’ve an All-Ireland semi-final coming up. You have to go training.’ So she was hunting me out. She understands. I’m so lucky.”

When she landed into Nowlan Park, her teammates presented her with a Kilkenny kit for Tadhg.

“The girls had the jersey got with the name at the back of it. I said to them I thought they were going to put ‘Sweeper’ on the back of the jersey. But they didn’t, they put ‘Dalton’ which was something, ‘cos I get some serious abuse about that! It’s a bit of fun.”

Convinced that they were going to have a boy, Dalton had already bought the kit of her beloved Barcelona last May.

“I was getting my soccer player! That’s positive thinking for you.”

You wonder how much being a mother has changed her.

“Karen thinks he’s broken me. She told me I’ve turned into a softy! I wouldn’t have had any exposure to kids growing up in the sense that I was the youngest with my twin. There were cousins around but it had never really interested me. Then you have your own and things change. She thinks it’s broken me… we’ll see on Saturday!”

She laughs, mischievously. We both know there’s no chance.

“Maybe he’s melted the cold heart a bit!”

Dalton has tended to be happy to portray herself in an austere fashion but there was always more to the St Lachtain’s clubwoman. Yet while Tadhg has forced her to shelf the serious front more often now, not alone is she in no doubt that his presence will not prevent her from contributing to Kilkenny’s cause for a few more years, she intimates that it might just make her better.

“I would be very much along the lines of when we’re in championship I don’t turn off from camogie most of the summer. I just don’t. Whereas now, there is a turn-off period because there’s something else there that’s more important.

“That’s a good thing, because you mentally have to shut down from anything; form work, camogie, even from family at some time.

“I’m getting more shut-down time from camogie thanks to Tadhg, and when I go training, I’m finding myself enjoying it more the last week or two. That’s mad, because everyone was saying ‘You’re going to be so tired’ but I’m really enjoying it.”

Facing Cork in this year’s league final.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

That could be bad news for Galway, though Dalton is very cognisant of the talent in their ranks. Indeed she sees a lot of similarities between them and Kilkenny. Dalton points out that she has been part of a squad that may have won the All-Ireland in 2016 but has lost four other finals.

Galway have struggled to perform at their best on the big occasion too and not built on their All-Ireland success of 2013. But one look at the squad demands respect and beating them by seven points in the group stages will mean nothing when the sliotar is thrown in this evening.

“Absolutely irrelevant. The Galway team we played in Nowlan Park is not the Galway team we’re going to meet on Saturday. We all know that. We’ve had serious battles with Galway over the years.

“Every time you play them, you don’t know if you’re going to walk out after beating them by two points or you don’t know if you’re going to walk out after getting a beating of 15 points. That’s how good Galway are. They are capable of giving anyone that sort of beating.

“If Galway turn up on the day, they can make bits of you. I’d like to think we’re the same. If we turn up on the day, we can make bits of you. It’s up to every team to bring it on the day. All you can do is try bring your A game and hopefully push it over the line. We’ll concentrate on our own performance and hopefully it’ll be enough.”

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