Weight lifted from Limerick hurling

Narrow it might have been in the end but those who dwell on an alternative result that never was are missing the point. Limerick, in a first final for all the starting 15, delivered a performance as good as could have been expected.

Pat Hartigan and Ned Rea of the Limerick 1973 team spoke on ‘Up for the Match’ on Saturday night about that year’s final and what was lost in the banter was Pat Hartigan’s comment that it was their first final in 33 years. That team too had psychological barriers to deal with and they did so with aplomb. Whatever absences Kilkenny might have had on the day, Limerick played well enough to suggest that whatever team lined out against them they would be in the hunt. Last Sunday was no different. A young team with zero All-Ireland senior final experience belied its status relative to their opponents who have been on the treadmill for several years.

John Kiely said at the end that “there is no substitute for hard work” and when all is said and done no All-Ireland win is replete without this epitaph. Limerick brought that voracious hunger that we saw from our own county in 2016 when defenders were closed down and every clearance became a hard-earned gain rather than just an accepted addition to the winning of primary possession. Galway’s forwards were forced to scrap for everything. Dirty ball became the only currency in this economy.

 

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