Richie McCarthy not surprised to see Limerick bounce back

Michael Bolton

As questions were asked of this Limerick side over the past two seasons, former hurler Richie McCarthy was always confident they would return to the All-Ireland final.

After winning Liam MacCarthy four years in-a-row, Limerick were defeated by Cork in the semi-finals in 2024, while Dublin caused the shock of the championship to defeat them in the quarter-finals last year.

While key players got older, they stepped up once again this season, winning Division 1A and the Munster championship, and had to come from behind to defeat Clare in the semi-finals.

The response from the Treaty was impressive, but not unexpected for McCarthy.

"Last year was just a bit of a blip. I do believe that Munster championship takes so much out ot you. It just wasn't characteristics you would associate with a Limerick team.

"They went back to the drawing board and had their meetings at the end of the year, and came strong and targeted everything.

"I know from being managed by John he wants to win everything. Pre-season competition, league, game in training, he wants us to win.

"I just think the Munster championship knocked him. It knocked him again this year, because against Clare, they were just a bit off it.

"Luckily, they just stayed in the fight, and their class came through in the end."

Under John Kiely, McCarthy won the 2018 All-Ireland with Limerick, in what would be a turning point for not only Limerick but GAA in general.

Often seen making the right calls on the sideline, from a change in tactics to substitutions, navigating what to do did not always come easily for Kiely.

As McCarthy explains, the work of performance coach Caroline Currid was a major influence.

“When he came into the set-up, initially, he was a fella who was a bit of a hothead, and I hope he would not mind me saying that. He tried (that method) to get as much out of the panel.

“He has really calmed over the years. He has really concentrated on what the players want to hear instead of this big speech at the start of the day. Like, we want to hear about what is going well and where we need to target.

“He gives you subtle information on what is going well, like where we are losing puck-outs and which areas we need to improve in. That is where Paul Kinnerk comes in as well. He does his bit on the board to see what we need to work on.

“He (Kiely) has really calmed over the years. He was very vocal at the start.

"That has a lot to do with Caroline who spoke to us and listened to what we wanted to hear. But at the same time when he needs to lose it, he does – but it is only when he has to.”

Sunday's final against Galway will be a full-circle moment for a lot of the players, who won their first All-Ireland against the Tribesmen in 2018.

Now, they are the experienced team, against a young Galway side with several players playing their first final.

For McCarthy, he was always impressed with how they carried themselves.

"In 2017, the young crop came in.

"In 2018, we did have a bad defeat to Clare that year, but it really galvanised the group after that defeat.

"There is no fear in these guys. The Cian Lynchs came in, and they were training so hard that they pushed on the group that was already there.

"They are probably the older lads, and the Cathal O'Neills are probably driving the whole thing.

"2018 wasn't a surprise. Momentum is key to this championship, if you get on a roll, keep going with it. We always save our best performance for the biggest day, which was against Galway.