John Kiely wasn’t long into his post All-Ireland final press conference when his emotions came bubbling up to the surface.
The Limerick manager was initially discussing his team’s defensive resilience in the win over Kilkenny when his tone shifted.
“We have had a really, really tough six months, we have had setback after setback after setback,” he revealed. “I could list 20 significant events that occurred during the course of the six months that were a challenge to us. The lads showed incredible resilience to keep going.”
Goalkeeper Nickie Quaid knows what Kiely was talking about; the poor National League form, the two draws over 70 minutes in the Munster championship, the ferocity of Kilkenny’s challenge, the various injuries and, of course, the one picked up by Cian Lynch just days out from the final which ruled the talisman out.
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For Kiely, it made their fourth All-Ireland win as a group the sweetest yet and Quaid is inclined to agree.
“Maybe it was the most difficult in terms of picking up injuries and down bodies,” said the All-Star goalkeeper.
“At the end of it, it was very satisfying to get over the line when you’d faced those things. Taking someone like Cian out of the team for a while was a huge blow to us obviously but the strength of the group . . . it’s a credit to the lads that came in to fill his void because it is not easy trying to do that.
“But the other side of it is, and John would speak about this a bit, these things happen in sport and you just have to get on with it.
“It is up to the next fellah to do a job, no matter who it is. Cian obviously had his injuries but it was just ‘next person in, step in and try to fill that void’. That’s what you have your panel for.”
It is an ominous thought for Limerick’s rivals ahead of the new season that Lynch and Peter Casey are closing in on full fitness again. If they could win the All-Ireland effectively without them, what might they do with the influential duo back at it in 2023?
“We have faced challenges before, different things have come against us, be it injuries or being down in games, and that gives you confidence, having been in that situation before and knowing you have got out of it, you know how to deal with it,” said Quaid. “That’s probably what real confidence is, that deep down you know you have the bodies there and you trust them no matter who they are to do a job.”
Quaid, at 33, was the oldest of Limerick’s starters on All-Ireland final day. Given his form, and perhaps the team’s remarkable winning streak, the idea of hanging up his hurl hasn’t entered his head. Mind you, he was quick to set it aside for a few weeks when things shut down with the club.
“You’d have six or seven weeks where you wouldn’t do anything at all,” he said. “The league can be long with inter-county and then club after it so everyone needs that kind of downtime, more so for you mentally than anything, to be fresh going into next year.”
The new season will begin for Limerick on January 15th when they travel to play Cork in the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League. Kiely may take the opportunity to rest Quaid and to test out whoever he has in mind to replace Barry Hennessy, the recently retired deputy ‘keeper who was on the bench behind Quaid for the four All-Ireland wins.
Then when the National League starts, it will be business as usual for Quaid whose precise puck-outs have become such a central part of how the Shannonsiders pick apart their opponents.
“Puckouts are definitely the biggest thing that has changed,” said Quaid of the evolution of his role.
“It is more so the movement and positioning of the forwards. Things like that have a bigger bearing on the puckout because it is great saying that the goalie can put it into space here and there, but if lads aren’t creating the space or making the runs then there is very little the goalie can do really. But yeah, that is the biggest change, there is more of an emphasis on possession and keeping the ball rather than just getting the ball as far away from your goal as possible and taking your chances from there.”
