‘I hope we can re-group and pick ourselves up’

THE heartbreak was written all over the faces of the Limerick senior footballers as they stood disconsolate on the field in Pairc Ui Chaoimh yesterday watching Cork lift the Munster title - another case of ‘what might have been’ as Limerick’s famine now stretches to 114 years.
A blistering first half display saw Limerick race into a 0-8 to 1-2 interval lead in the Munster final, with just a hotly-disputed penalty saving Cork’s blushes. With 15 minutes to play the sides were level, but Cork were to deny a gallant Limerick a first title since 1896.


“One hundred and 13 years doesn’t bother me - all I know is that I am playing for 11 years and I haven’t won one,” said Limerick’s midfield master John Galvin.
“This is the third year now - in 2004 we should have taken Kerry and now there is 2009 and I personally think we should have taken Cork today.”
Another moral victory was not good enough for Galvin.
“I have been in nearly teams for years,” he sighed.
“The problem with nearly teams is that they die. How many nearly teams are there, look at Fermanagh, Wexford...”
Galvin now wants his side to re-group for the qualifiers on the weekend of July 25-26.
“You need to win something to keep up the spirit. We are just after losing the match and I am a bit down, but I hope we can re-group.”
Two rounds of the qualifiers remain before Limerick will find out their opposition in the round four draw on Sunday evening, July 19.
The big name possibilities are Kerry, Derry, Monaghan and Donegal along with Down, Laois, Longford, Wexford, Roscommon, Tipperary, Sligo, Clare, Westmeath, Meath, Wicklow and Cavan.
“It is going to be hard to pick ourselves up,” said a clearly disappointed John Galvin.
“It would be terrible to leave the season like that and not put in a good fight for the qualifiers. I hope we can re-group and pick ourselves up. We deserve to be in the last 12 in the qualifiers. We believed if we went out there today and performed and stuck with Cork we could take them,” the Croom man said with another rueful shake of his head.
“It didn’t turn out the way we had expected - we were total underdogs going in there today, but we knew that if we went out and performed we would be there at the end of the match with a chance of taking them.
“We performed to a certain extent, but I still think we could have done better - there were a lot of chances missed that we should have taken.
“We dominated the first half and could have put up more scores and had a bigger lead,” he recalled.
“It’s a cruel game - Cork got the small bit of the rub of the green that is needed. It’s very hard to maintain the intensity high for 70 minutes, but when you are dominating we should have put up a bigger lead.
“Unfortunately we didn’t take advantage of our time on top and Cork got a goal from the penalty against the run of play.”
Stephen Lucey and Mark O’Riordan were two of the Limerick heroes in defence yesterday.
The Croom colleagues now face just a six-day turn around as they prepare for next Saturday’s All-Ireland hurling qualifiers. The two dual players will be part of Justin McCarthy’s plans for the trip to Wexford Park to face Colm Bonner’s home side. The Limerick v Wexford hurling game is now likely to form a double-header with Wexford’s football qualifier against Roscommon.

Jerome O'Connell

Stephen Kelly will start Sunday’s Munster final

MICKEY Ned O’Sullivan has selected the starting side that is entrusted with ending Limerick’s 113-year wait for a second Munster senior football championship title.
For Sunday’s final against Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh Stephen Kelly is selected for his first championship appearance of the season.


The speedy attacker will be looking to add a historic Munster SFC medal to the AIL title he won in Thomond Park in May with Shannon.
Kelly suffered a broken bone in his hand in that final win over Clontarf and the sporting all-rounder was forced to miss Limerick’s Munster championship wins over Tipperary and Clare. The Newcastle West man is now fully-recovered and has been named at full-forward in a direct swap with Jason Stokes in the only personal change.
Kelly is joined in attack by three under-21 players - Ian Ryan, Ger Collins and Cormac Joyce Power.
Mickey Ned O’Sullivan and his backroom team selected from a full panel and it was always expected that Kelly would push for inclusion.
Na Piarsaigh’s Eoin Hogan has missed a number of training sessions with a broken metatarsal bone, but he is named among the substitutes and could be a vital replacement as he was in the semi-final win over Clare.
Cork manager Conor Counihan has selected Kieran O’Connor to come into the Cork team at left half-back in place of the suspended Noel O’Leary.
If Limerick are to spring the shock of the championship much will depend on the midfield pairing of John Galvin and Jim O’Donovan.
John Galvin is convinced that Limerick can be a match for red-hot favourites Cork.
“We are going into the lions den as they say and Cork are playing really well down there - the truth is when we do perform we can compete with most teams in the country,” said Galvin.
“I want to enjoy getting to a Munster final, but I don’t want to get overwhelmed by the whole thing. Win, lose or draw we will know where we stand and so will the rest of the country.”
The bookies make Limerick firm outsiders, but Galvin insists that just slight improvements are needed.
“The problem with us is our lack of consistency - we played well against Tipperary for 30 minutes and then switched off for 30 minutes and we let them back into it.
“If we go out and give a 70 minutes performance, who knows.”
Tickets for Sunday’s provincial final are available from the clubs throughout the county and are also available to purchase from all Ticketmaster outlets. A public sale of tickets will take place tonight in the Gaelic Grounds between 5.00-8.00pm.
Tickets will cost €35 for adults to the uncovered stand, €30 for adults to the covered stand and €20 to the terrace.
Juveniles can purchase tickets for €5 to either of the stands. Student terrace tickets are available through the participating county boards for €15.
Senior Citizens can obtain a refund of €10 on full priced stand tickets at designated turnstiles on production of valid ID prior to entering the stadium.
Sunday’s final has a 2.00pm start in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and will be televised live on TV3. The curtain-raiser will be the Munster minor football final at 12 noon which will involve Tipperary and Kerry.

Limerick: Sean Kiely; Johnny McCarthy, Shane Gallagher, Mark O’Riordan; Stephen Lavin, Stephen Lucey, Pa Ranahan; John Galvin, Jim O’Donovan; Padraig Browne, Cormac Joyce-Power, Seanie Buckley (capt); Ger Collins, Stephen Kelly, Ian Ryan.

Cork: Alan Quirke; Ray Carey, Michael Shields, Anthony Lynch; John Miskella, Graham Canty, Kieran O’Connor; Alan O’Connor, Nicholas Murphy; Paddy Kelly, Pierce O’Neill, Paul Kerrigan; Daniel Goulding, James Masters, Donnacha O’Connor.

Jerome O'Connell