Séamus Hickey on why Limerick aren’t dirty but do stray over the line

Limerick All-Ireland winner Séamus Hickey rejects the view that the county's hurlers are a "dirty" team but accepts that they have in recent years "strayed over" the line between physicality and foul play.

The former All Star, who retired in 2018, was speaking at a press call for the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup final, which takes place on Saturday. He was asked about the fall-out from Limerick's defeat by Galway in the league and the sending-off of Gearóid Hegarty.

This triggered some speculation about Limerick’s disciplinary track record with former Cork hurler and RTE pundit Dónal Óg Cusack saying that Hegarty “had it coming,” because of his “habit of flicking back with the hurley. You can’t do it. He’s been lucky over the last number of years.”

Hickey made the point that the standard for physicality had been set by the Kilkenny team of the previous two decades.

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“I think that the standard has been set for over a decade for what is required in senior intercounty hurling and that physicality and intensity was set early on in the 2000s by a phenomenal team and even when we were looking at Galway’s rise to prominence in the 2010s, that was based on an increased physicality, an increased intensity and I suppose they were men of great stature, great physicality.

“Limerick, we are fortunate to have big men, very physical men and they’re encouraged – certainly when I was in the set-up, we were encouraged to make contact, to be physical. And it is a game of contact and physicality and you’ll find that the more contact you make with the opposition, the more disruptive you are.”

“Now, you have to do that within the rules so you’re coached in correct tackle technique but the reality is that when you’re putting an emphasis on intensity and physicality, you’re going to stray over it. And I think Limerick have strayed over it in the last couple of years but, to me, to no major consequence.

“I don’t think they’re dirty. I think there’s definitely a burden that comes with handling the attention and the intensity of what the other team is throwing at you and really the aim of the underdog is to get under the skin of the favourites. So, to me, that’s part of it.”

Increased scrutiny

He was also asked had it been a good thing that the issue had been highlighted at a non-critical stage of the year or did he feel that it meant increased scrutiny from now on?

“Is it something that could hurt them in the summertime, in the heat of championship? It is possible, absolutely it is because if you play on the edge then it is the referee’s interpretation of the physicality and the playing of the game that could ultimately decide the moment but it’s the same for every team. Limerick ultimately have to play by the rules. If you break the rules there’s a consequence.”

Speaking about the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup, Hickey outlined the huge contribution it had made to the success of Limerick by acting effectively as a finishing school for up-and-coming hurlers.

“When I was playing (Fitzgibbon) I was the only Limerick hurler on the UL panel for nearly four years. It changed then towards the end. We had a couple of Limerick players on the panel when we won it in 2011 but between 2012 and the present day, we’ve had really, really good representation across a number of teams, winning teams.

“Mary Immaculate, UL, LIT obviously, or (as it is now) Technical University of Shannon: I think the last 10 years have been really, really good. Having more Limerick players represented on the strong Fitzgibbon teams definitely was an advantage when it came to building a team, building standards.

"Having players that were able to excel at the highest level in colleges - when I look at the likes of Aaron Gillane, he was with us in late 2016, peripheral on the panel, a young guy who hadn't a huge pedigree from under-age and then absolutely lit it up for Mary I in the Fitzgibbon when they won it I think in 2018, the year we won the All-Ireland."

Integration

As a former activist in the Gaelic Players Association he is fully in support of the GPA motion to congress, calling for the GAA to "prioritise" integration with the women's Gaelic games organisations. How quickly does he think it can happen?

“I don’t have an answer to how soon it will happen because in fairness this is a question that when I sat on Árd Comhairle was discussed annually.

“There are a number of difficulties in making that happen and it requires a strong leadership push and desire. From my experience of the past two years of the GPA and its amalgamation with the WGPA, it was a movement that was necessary for equality across the board.

“It needs to happen yesterday. I think there’s a huge need for it. Even locally, my daughter plays camogie in a club that’s separate to the football and hurling in the parish - and separate to ladies’ football.

“Then you have unfortunate clashes of fixtures and scheduling and resources. I think sharing of resources should be a given. I see my daughter playing camogie and the facilities she’s using are not the same and that’s the reality she’s facing and I’d like to change that reality.”