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Limerick Hurling Thread 2025

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Its all over now but the Lunacy of Penalties for a hurling match not fair on players/managers/fans borrowed from the World Cup.

I wish high profile Managers and County Officials made more noise about thinks can change remember the Skorts issue has to be changed at Congress except the players reacted reasonably and then did they not convene a special congress? anyway changes happened

Hard to see anything but a good win for Limerick

clooney (Clare) - Posts: 991 - 19/06/2025 16:53:30    2619304

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Replying To clooney:  "Its all over now but the Lunacy of Penalties for a hurling match not fair on players/managers/fans borrowed from the World Cup.

I wish high profile Managers and County Officials made more noise about thinks can change remember the Skorts issue has to be changed at Congress except the players reacted reasonably and then did they not convene a special congress? anyway changes happened

Hard to see anything but a good win for Limerick"
They were able to change the penalties in Hurling from 3 on 1 to 1 on 1 fairly quick enough when it suited them before

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2405 - 19/06/2025 17:53:13    2619320

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Replying To Mads:  "I get the point about starting our first 15, however at the same time, if there is another extra time later on in the championship or someone goes down early through injury the lads coming in need to be sharp. I think I definitely would start Barry murphy for proper croke Park experience. DOD I feel is improving all the time and a full game could be the makings of him. Playing him alongside Adam English and giving WOD a rest wouldn't do much harm to anyone and finally CON instead of TOM. Not saying any of these would necessarily start against the
Cats but at least they would have benefitted from that starting game particularly in croke Park.
Unfortunately I was never in a position to make the quarter due to other commitments, however, I think it has worked out as a great way to get valuable experience for the young lads and sharpness into the other lads. We were always a bit sluggish starting in our other semis, that shouldn't be the case against the cats which is vital. I Don't think the game against the Dubs will be too easy, any win by a few points will do just to get the last result out of the system."
" I think it has worked out as a great way to...", unless of course, Dublin win.

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2317 - 19/06/2025 20:48:57    2619336

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Full strength team for Saturday. No sign of the bull so hopefully it is just a small knock he is carrying. Glad to see O'Connor get another run out, just did nt click for him the last night but he did do a lot of things right.

Hopefully we can fly out of the blocks and then empty to bench to get minutes into the subs who will be key if we are to go all the way.

LarryLuimneach (Limerick) - Posts: 4 - 19/06/2025 22:44:08    2619358

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Thought there might have been a change or 2..o brien must be injured,not in 26..delighted o Connor getting another her chance,did a lot right the last day and scored1-1..roll on now Saturday..

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2557 - 20/06/2025 01:16:59    2619372

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Replying To Mads:  "I get the point about starting our first 15, however at the same time, if there is another extra time later on in the championship or someone goes down early through injury the lads coming in need to be sharp. I think I definitely would start Barry murphy for proper croke Park experience. DOD I feel is improving all the time and a full game could be the makings of him. Playing him alongside Adam English and giving WOD a rest wouldn't do much harm to anyone and finally CON instead of TOM. Not saying any of these would necessarily start against the
Cats but at least they would have benefitted from that starting game particularly in croke Park.
Unfortunately I was never in a position to make the quarter due to other commitments, however, I think it has worked out as a great way to get valuable experience for the young lads and sharpness into the other lads. We were always a bit sluggish starting in our other semis, that shouldn't be the case against the cats which is vital. I Don't think the game against the Dubs will be too easy, any win by a few points will do just to get the last result out of the system."
"I get the point about starting our first 15, however at the same time, if there is another extra time later on in the championship..."

Later on in the championship? How about solely concentrating on the game at hand? I very much doubt that Dublin, Galway or Tipp are thinking about games later on in the championship.

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2852 - 20/06/2025 07:56:51    2619379

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The team picked says all you need to know about Limerick's mentality. Go full on, or go home. There will be no next game if we don't take care of this game first. If we are not able to beat Dublin first, then we have no business thinking we can beat Kilkenny

LimerickandProud (Limerick) - Posts: 179 - 20/06/2025 11:23:48    2619430

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I assume O Brien must be injured.
Must have been a close call then between Casey, Cathal O Neill and O'Connor (and maybe even Flanagan) for a forward spot
I heard on a podcast (I think it was TJ Ryan) that O Connor had been tearing up trees in training, specifically the 15 v 15 games and that was how he got in for the Munster final. Another big chance for him, he got on plenty of ball the last day but missed a couple of easy scores. But then almost everybody except Gillane did the same.

I still think Cathal O Neill would add a lot as a starter. He brings so much energy, pace and power when he comes in, full of running, but is probably still getting up to full speed especially in terms of his shooting. I think he would add a lot as a starter in a semifinal or a final. But I have no idea who you would leave off to accommodate him.
Casey I just think is a step or two behind right now but is a great player to be able to bring in.

Low key enough build up to this game, and indeed for both QFs. They seem to be squeezed into the calendar, when they really should be center stage on Sunday. I know there were commitments to the Tailteann Cup but these should be some of the biggest hurling games of the year but they seem like an afterthought. Needs to change for next year

Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 149 - 20/06/2025 14:25:31    2619479

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Is it all as straightforward as pundits are predicting ? I reckon Dublin hurling is improving and Na Fianna are all ireland club champions although they've only 2 on the Dublin team .Their manager O Ceallachain is no mug , Think it'll be a lot closer than people are expecting and a big Dublin crowd in for second half could drive them on if their still in the game

OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 755 - 20/06/2025 15:29:22    2619501

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Replying To OpenStand:  "Is it all as straightforward as pundits are predicting ? I reckon Dublin hurling is improving and Na Fianna are all ireland club champions although they've only 2 on the Dublin team .Their manager O Ceallachain is no mug , Think it'll be a lot closer than people are expecting and a big Dublin crowd in for second half could drive them on if their still in the game"
Dublin were very poor against Galway but played well v Wexford and Kilkenny so it is hard to know with them, but I do think the bigger pitch in Croker suits their pacy players more so than Parnell park.

Hard to look past Limerick winning though.

Past hurler (None) - Posts: 961 - 20/06/2025 17:00:44    2619517

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Replying To Cockney_Cat:  ""I get the point about starting our first 15, however at the same time, if there is another extra time later on in the championship..."

Later on in the championship? How about solely concentrating on the game at hand? I very much doubt that Dublin, Galway or Tipp are thinking about games later on in the championship."
I still don't think 3 changes with one of them being a serial all ireland winner would have weakened our starting 15

Mads (Limerick) - Posts: 375 - 20/06/2025 21:03:02    2619536

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Replying To OpenStand:  "Is it all as straightforward as pundits are predicting ? I reckon Dublin hurling is improving and Na Fianna are all ireland club champions although they've only 2 on the Dublin team .Their manager O Ceallachain is no mug , Think it'll be a lot closer than people are expecting and a big Dublin crowd in for second half could drive them on if their still in the game"
Unfortunately my fears came to pass , a tired limerick team after so many great days couldn't rise themselves against an improved and hungry Dublin team , well done to Dublin , bound to be a number of limerick retirements.
PS - a very small Limerick crowd for todays game , a mixture of complacency( waiting for semi final ) & so many matchs in quick succession(costs too much money )

OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 755 - 21/06/2025 17:57:34    2619671

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Replying To OpenStand:  "Unfortunately my fears came to pass , a tired limerick team after so many great days couldn't rise themselves against an improved and hungry Dublin team , well done to Dublin , bound to be a number of limerick retirements.
PS - a very small Limerick crowd for todays game , a mixture of complacency( waiting for semi final ) & so many matchs in quick succession(costs too much money )"
Yeah look I'll certainly be first to admit I thought it may not be the big score against them but I definitely thought we'd win..Dublin a man up for 3/4s of the game too. They were absolutely fantastic.
You knew when Gillane didn't bury that goal chance that we'd struggle to pull off the win. It would have been unfair on Dublin the way they played. The energy levels were on the floor from us. The young lads like Adam English and Aidan o connor were the best for us. But we all know our lads owe us absolutely nothing. They give it everything and I honestly think they did today too, they just hadn't the energy to match the Dubs. There will still be a cian lynch roundabout and an Aaron Gillane tunnel built one day.

Mads (Limerick) - Posts: 375 - 21/06/2025 19:12:38    2619685

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An interesting comparison between Cody's Kilkenny and Kiely's Limerick. This year is seven year's since Limerick's first All Ireland win under John Kiely. 10 players who started the 2018 Final started against Dublin today. Cody's first All Ireland win was 2000. Seven years later, when Kilkenny beat Limerick in the Final, only three players from 2000 started. Therein I think is why Limerick lost today. Not enough freshness brought in to the team and relying still on many of the players from 2018 who did not have the legs and energy to match Dublin today. If Limerick are to come back and contend for the All Ireland next year, they'll need to find a few new players.

endgame (Roscommon) - Posts: 2486 - 21/06/2025 21:15:34    2619735

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Replying To endgame:  "An interesting comparison between Cody's Kilkenny and Kiely's Limerick. This year is seven year's since Limerick's first All Ireland win under John Kiely. 10 players who started the 2018 Final started against Dublin today. Cody's first All Ireland win was 2000. Seven years later, when Kilkenny beat Limerick in the Final, only three players from 2000 started. Therein I think is why Limerick lost today. Not enough freshness brought in to the team and relying still on many of the players from 2018 who did not have the legs and energy to match Dublin today. If Limerick are to come back and contend for the All Ireland next year, they'll need to find a few new players."
That's an easy stat to throw out, and I actually agree that the Limerick lads appeared leggy today, but the circumstances are very different. Kiely's team in 2018 was extremely young, aside from a handful of players like Mulcahy who's gone, Hannon who has been dropped and Quaid who's still the best keeper in the country in my opinion. The vast majority of the rest, were very young at the time of their first All-Ireland.
In contrast, the majority of the Kilkenny team of 2000 were in their late 20s or older and had been on the road for many years. They were simply too old to be around 7 years later, whereas the Limerick lads are not.
In fact, the average age of the current Limerick team is actually younger than the Kilkenny team of 2000.
Now the Limerick lads have been playing at a very high level for years and it's very possible that the miles on the clock have them starting to appear older than their age. But it's rare for a raft of players in their mid to late-20s who've won 5 All-Irelands to be phased out.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2405 - 21/06/2025 23:21:51    2619775

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Limerick, ye were beaten by a better side on the day. Dublin fought on their backs for every ball and had the hurling then to finish the job. A big thank you to all involved with that great Limerick team, who over the past 7-8 years have given me immense pleasure and some great weekends. No doubting you will be back!

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2317 - 21/06/2025 23:48:57    2619780

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Replying To endgame:  "An interesting comparison between Cody's Kilkenny and Kiely's Limerick. This year is seven year's since Limerick's first All Ireland win under John Kiely. 10 players who started the 2018 Final started against Dublin today. Cody's first All Ireland win was 2000. Seven years later, when Kilkenny beat Limerick in the Final, only three players from 2000 started. Therein I think is why Limerick lost today. Not enough freshness brought in to the team and relying still on many of the players from 2018 who did not have the legs and energy to match Dublin today. If Limerick are to come back and contend for the All Ireland next year, they'll need to find a few new players."
Kilkenny were the greatest hurling team of all time and Brian Cody was the greatest manager of all time.

That 2006 to 2015 Kilkenny squad will never ever be surpassed, they won 8 All Irelands in that 10 year period, only missing out in 2010 & 2013.

Past hurler (None) - Posts: 961 - 22/06/2025 08:37:37    2619807

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Replying To Past hurler:  "Kilkenny were the greatest hurling team of all time and Brian Cody was the greatest manager of all time.

That 2006 to 2015 Kilkenny squad will never ever be surpassed, they won 8 All Irelands in that 10 year period, only missing out in 2010 & 2013."
I wouldn't argue with that. As for Limerick, I agree that they were mainly a young team back in 2018 but they've been at the top since which takes a toll on the mind and body and they may have aged beyond their years. They'll need to find a few new players to get back to the summit next year.

endgame (Roscommon) - Posts: 2486 - 22/06/2025 10:46:03    2619829

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Replying To foreveryoung:  "Limerick, ye were beaten by a better side on the day. Dublin fought on their backs for every ball and had the hurling then to finish the job. A big thank you to all involved with that great Limerick team, who over the past 7-8 years have given me immense pleasure and some great weekends. No doubting you will be back!"
That's it exactly. Fair play. They are still fantastic lads and kiley and kinnerk as well. There is a lot of talk about whether kiely will stay on. I thought he signed for 2 years which wouks bring him to next year? I hope he does see it out and finish on his own terms.

Mads (Limerick) - Posts: 375 - 22/06/2025 11:25:10    2619837

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Replying To Past hurler:  "Kilkenny were the greatest hurling team of all time and Brian Cody was the greatest manager of all time.

That 2006 to 2015 Kilkenny squad will never ever be surpassed, they won 8 All Irelands in that 10 year period, only missing out in 2010 & 2013."
Limerick have been absolutely brilliant since 2018, and I have not seen a better team in 60 years of watching hurling games. Comparison with the great KK team should take account of the fact that KK never had to pick their way through the minefield that has been the Munster championship, especially since the round robin came into play. Had the Leinster championship been as competitive and energy sapping, KK would probably still have enjoyed all their successes, but we'll never know for sure.

midlands (Westmeath) - Posts: 615 - 22/06/2025 11:26:37    2619838

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