No resting on laurels for Will O’Donoghue and Limerick

Among the critiques of the 2021 All Star hurling team – and there were many – was All-Ireland champions Limerick winning 12 of the available 15 positions. Vincent Browne was among those to make his feelings known, saying it was an outrage that Limerick won 12, when they should have won all 15.

It was nonetheless unprecedented: all 15 starting players from Limerick’s All-Ireland winning team were indeed nominated, the 12 that made the 2021 team an All Star record – the first in double figures. The previous record of nine stood for both hurling and football, achieved three times in hurling by Kilkenny in 1983, 2000 and 2008, twice in football by Dublin, last year and 1977, and once by Kerry, in 1981.

Among the 12 Limerick All Star winners was midfielder Will O'Donoghue, who picked up his first award, as did fellow midfielder Darragh O'Donovan. In all, five Limerick players won their first award, the three to miss out in 2021 being goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, full back Dan Morrissey, and corner forward Aaron Gillane – who all had previously been honoured.

It was also the first time in the now 51-year history of the All Star awards that the beaten All-Ireland finalists, in this case Cork, didn’t get a single player among the chosen 15.

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For O’Donoghue, such critiques, for better or for worse, go largely unheeded – and not least the notion Limerick should have won all 15

“No, I would definitely not agree with that,” he says. “It was an incredible feat for the group, and everyone who puts time into us, that we managed to break that record, and to be honest, any one of us could have lost out, and any one of us could have picked one up.

“I do think breaking that figure of nine is more down to the people around us, who give us the platform to perform, our coaches obviously, who created the environment where 12 people were able to be recognised, and another three in a position to be recognised. As a team, we very much achieved what we wanted to achieve.”

Seán Finn won a fourth successive All Star at corner back, Cian Lynch won his second to go with another Hurler of the Year award, and still O’Donoghue insists this changes nothing within the team, who won their third All-Ireland in four years.

“We’re all mates, friends, and it certainly hasn’t changed anything for any of us, we just play, and thankfully we’re going well, and we’re very much focused on giving the best account of ourselves over the next few months.”

Nor does he take much interest in the talk of Limerick’s record win over Cork last August being the most dominant in modern All-Ireland times: “Again, that’s not for us to judge, you don’t remember much of it if you’re doing your job. We were very much focused on that.”

League programme

What does interest him more is the season ahead, which begins this Sunday with the unlikely Munster Hurling Cup semi-final against Kerry, who beat Tipperary last weekend. The Kerry team also features three Limerick-born players, including forward Paudie Ahern from the Killeedy club.

Win or lose there, the season begins for real next month with an intense league programme that could see them play seven weekends out of nine, should Limerick make the final, then head into the Munster championship after just a two -week break. No complaints about that however.

“To be honest, that’s for John [Kiely] and the top level to be analysing, our job is to play, to focus on that. People can talk about gaps, but winning the province would be a privilege, and whatever the gap, fine. If you’re in the provincial final, you’re doing something right.”

Speaking at the announcement of the Irish Life four-year extension to its partnership with the GAA Healthy Clubs programme, O'Donoghue also admits to taking a complete break from hurling for several weeks.

“I always say I’d love to take up something new, then when the time comes I don’t want to get off the couch. I played a bit of indoor soccer, first touch wasn’t great though. It’s about relaxing, catching up with friends, so just took the complete break, got away on a holiday or two, and you’re looking forward to getting back then.”

No great fear either about Covid-19 impacting on the league: “If someone is not available, fine, there are 36 players there. You just have to get on with it, it’s the world we’re living in, if you’re not ready to adapt at this stage, after two years of it, then you may as well forget it.

“Touch wood the games get to go ahead, people get to watch them, because at the start of the pandemic, it was a lonely enough place for a few months.”