Dublin hurlers continue to sell themselves short in decade of lost opportunities

On a weekend when Limerick seized immortality, Dublin’s hurling purgatory continued. If Thurles was heaven for those in green and white on Sunday, Croke Park was a black and amber hell for Dublin on Saturday.

Limerick have become hurling’s dominant force in recent years while the Dublin hurlers still can’t seem to figure out who exactly they are. Their meek resistance to Kilkenny on Saturday was the latest opportunity lost in a decade where the rise of the capital’s hurlers has plateaued.

Saturday’s Leinster final was over as a contest early on, Eoin Cody’s third minute goal set the agenda and Dublin complied with all the terms and conditions laid out by the aggressors.

The power outage in Semple Stadium and subsequent delay to throw-in caused a hullaballoo on Sunday, but it ensured the Munster final had provided more drama before it even started than the Leinster decider managed for 70-plus minutes the night before.

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Just 11 years ago, in the summer of 2013, both Limerick and Dublin ended lengthy periods without provincial success.

The Dubs, then under the stewardship of Anthony Daly, beat Galway to win a first Leinster SHC since 1961. Just seven days later, John Allen’s Limerick overcame Cork to claim Munster glory for the first time since 1996.

The following month, Cork beat Dublin in an All-Ireland semi-final and Clare saw off Limerick. But progress had been made by both Dublin and Limerick, silverware had been mined. There was something to build on.

Danny Sutcliffe was the only Dublin player on the field last Saturday evening who featured in that 2013 All-Ireland semi-final loss to Cork. Of the Limerick team which lost to Clare that August – Nickie Quaid, Declan Hannon and Graeme Mulcahy all featured during Sunday’s win over Clare.

When the fork in the road appeared, Limerick and Dublin chose different routes.

Limerick have since added six further provincial titles – and next month John Kiely’s men might just confirm their place as the greatest hurling team of all time.

Not only have Dublin failed to add another Leinster title since 2013, but they have only contested three subsequent finals – which they have lost by a combined total of 37 points. Kilkenny were their nemesis in all three. Indeed, Dublin have failed to beat the Cats in the championship since 2013.

Saturday’s 16-point defeat was a chastening one for Dublin and it’s difficult to know what they can now salvage from their season in the weeks ahead. They are in the quarter-finals awaiting either Cork or Offaly. Beyond that, Limerick would be their All-Ireland semi-final opponents. There aren’t many folk expecting Dublin to be doing a whole pile of hurling in July.

The fact is they don’t look any closer to pulling up a seat at hurling’s top table and the optics of Saturday’s 16-point hammering does the small-ball code no favours in the capital. The reputational damage which accompanies such a defeat makes it much harder for hurling to capture the hearts and minds in Dublin. It’s a harder sell when the product continues to malfunction on such days.

Saturday was an opportunity to persuade the floating voters that this was a team worth supporting, but instead it only served to give oxygen to the same old story non-believers. Hurling remains firmly in the shadow of the big-ball game in Dublin and when talented dual players flock to the footballers, naturally it makes it more difficult when facing a county where hurling is a religion.

But there has been a huge amount of investment in Dublin hurling and club academies on Saturday mornings introduce and coach the game to thousands of kids across the capital every weekend.

And while the senior hurlers might not have the same fan-base as the footballers, they have benefitted over the years too from the perks of the gig including the county’s commercial partnerships with car manufacturers.

However, the hurlers have fallen short of the expectations laid out in Dublin GAA’s Strategic Plan in 2011. The report, Unleashing the Blue Wave, caused a stir at the time and among its aspirations was for the senior hurlers to win Liam MacCarthy every five years.

The report targeted the under-21 hurlers to win an All-Ireland at that grade every five years too, while it was hoped the minor hurlers could claim glory every three years.

Dublin’s last senior All-Ireland hurling title triumph was in 1938, they have never won an under-21/20 crown while their most recent minor success was in 1965.

They continue to be competitive at underage level in Leinster and were provincial under-21/20 champions in 2016 and 2020, while they contested the final in 2021 and again this year. Dublin won the Leinster minor championship in 2016 and 2018.

But too often in recent years when the seniors have seemingly positioned themselves to kick on and produce a statement victory, they have come up short.

“They are a lot better [than that],” remarked Micheál Donoghue when trying to explain his side’s loss to Kilkenny last Saturday.

“But they’re a young team and they’re on a journey. You have to take the good with the bad.

“This is going to hurt, I’m not going to hide behind that, but the fact of the matter is that we have a game again in two weeks’ time, so we have to dust ourselves down and prepare for that.”

The sheer weight of playing numbers suggests Dublin will eventually make a breakthrough in hurling but for now the sheer weight of history continues to prevail.

Saturday was the latest false dawn for Dublin hurling. There have been too many.