After years of illuminating the championship, Limerick couldn't find the light switch against Dublin
In the build-up to the
Munster
final
John Kiely
gave a group interview to GAA reporters that lasted about 40 minutes. In answer to a wide range of questions, Kiely was thoughtful and expansive, with one pointed exception. He was asked about last year's All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Cork and suggestions at the time that this
Limerick
team had reached some kind of end.
'Maybe that narrative was out there,' he said. 'I think that narrative has been debunked now.'
It seemed like he wanted to say something else on the subject, but he checked himself and stopped. In the entire interview it was the only short answer he gave.
In his post-match interview on Saturday Kiely wasn't asked that question. All over the country, people had made up their own minds.
Dublin
had just produced a staggering performance to cause probably the greatest shock of the last 50 years, but Limerick's performance was indistinguishable from the outcome and the story.
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In the modern game, where the ball is managed with digital precision, nobody expects an elite team to lose against 14 players. During their years of dominance Limerick were masters at making it seem like they had an extra man. By meticulous design, they created overloads and pockets of space, and the ball always moved along expected lines. One of their greatest powers was to make other teams chase with their tongues hanging out.
On Saturday, they couldn't inflict that torment on 14 Dublin players. After Limerick lost a league semi-final to Kilkenny at Páirc Uí Chaoimh 15 months ago, Kiely said it was their worst performance since his first season as manager. Everything in the league, though, is biodegradable.
What Limerick produced on Saturday was their weakest performance in a consequential match since they were beaten in the qualifiers by Kilkenny in 2017; on that evening they hit just 17 scores and committed 17 wides. Paul Kinnerk's work with the team, though, still hadn't reached the launch phase. On Saturday, there were no mitigating circumstances.
Limerick manager John Kiely during the quarter-final against Dublin. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
For Limerick this was a systems failure. In his post-match press conference Kiely kept referring to the difficulty they experienced on their own puck-out, especially in the first half. For one puck-out Nickie Quaid gestured urgently with his hands, begging for movement in the landing zone. Eventually he spread his arms wide in exasperation.
When have you ever seen that? Quaid is the epitome of cool detachment. Making connections between the goalie and the puck-out receiver has been one of Limerick's superpowers. Quaid and Cian Lynch are their creative pulse.
In the first half Limerick won just 15 of their 24 puck-outs, even though they had an extra man for 20 minutes. By the end of the game their return on long puck-outs was 11 out of 21. Dublin's aggression on Limerick's restarts was a massive source of energy.
One of the other metrics that Limerick swear by is having more shots than the opposition. On Saturday Dublin had 39 shots from play and Limerick had just 35. In the Munster final, in normal time, Cork had eight more shots from play. When Cork beat them in the round-robin last season, it was the first time that any team had more shots than Limerick since 2017.
Their overall shooting efficiency in the Munster final was 59 per cent; against Dublin it was 58 per cent. When the numbers fall as they did on Saturday, Limerick know they're in trouble; for half a dozen seasons, this was exactly how they caused trouble for all-comers. The only variable was their efficiency; the bombardment came as standard. On Saturday, it didn't materialise.
How Limerick reacted to not winning the five-in-row was always going to be one of the compelling storylines of the summer. When they eviscerated Cork in their second-last game in the Munster round-robin, the wondering stopped. They simplified the group think for everyone.
It was clear that Limerick made a conscious stab at renewal. During the close season there was more boardroom turnover in the Limerick set-up than at any other time during Kiely's eight years in charge.
Limerick's Nickie Quaid and Adam English after Saturday's game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
They appointed a new strength and conditioning coach, a new performance coach, a new goalkeeping coach and a new nutritionist. Their lead analyst Seán O'Donnell had a team of three; they all stepped away and needed to be replaced. Kiely also came back with two new coach/selectors and a different captain.
On the field, they used 36 different players in the league, which was more than any of the other Munster counties, and one more than Galway, a team in the early stages of a massive rebuild.
For the first round of the championship against Tipperary, Limerick fielded five players who had not started in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork last July. This was exactly how Kilkenny had responded to not winning the five-in-a-row: they swapped out a third of their starting team for the following year's championship.
In Limerick's case, though, they couldn't sustain it. Barry Murphy and Colin Coughlan returned to the bench and were surprisingly joined by Shane O'Brien for the Munster final. O'Brien fell so far out of favour that he wasn't named in their original 26 for last weekend's game. Of the players who made a big impression in the league, only Adam English held his form and kept his place; he was sensational.
Among their vastly experienced players, Declan Hannon, Darragh O'Donovan and Séamus Flanagan couldn't break back into the team. William O'Donoghue was taken off on Saturday, just as he had been against Waterford and in the Munster final. Peter Casey recovered from a serious, long-term injury but was only used as an impact player. Diarmaid Byrnes was in-and-out of form; so was Seán Finn. For years, their brilliance had illuminated the championship.
There might only be a couple of retirements, or there might be none, but the process of renewal will be accelerated now.
One of the recurring themes in the post-match reaction over the weekend was that Limerick had been 'great champions'. Nobody would have meant to be patronising but this is the second year they have been exposed to that guff, and you can imagine how it will grate on them.
The team that won five All-Irelands in six years, though, perished in Croke Park on Saturday. The next Limerick team to win the All-Ireland won't be the same.
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