Month: September 2021

WHEN THE BATTLE lines are drawn on Sunday afternoon, one key area of combat will be the middle third.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

In the maroon corner are David Burke and Johnny Coen. Micheal Donoghue stumbled across the midfield partnership halfway through his first campaign in charge back in 2016 and they’ve been mainstays ever since.

Galway’s second-half collapse against Kilkenny in the Leinster final that summer, where they lost by seven points after leading by three at the interval, signalled the end of the Burke-Davy Glennon combination at 8 and 9.

By the time the Tribe faced Clare in the All-Ireland quarter-final three weeks later, Coen was repositioned from corner-back to centre-field alongside Burke. It wasn’t unfamiliar territory – the pair were a midfield partnership with Galway U21s in 2011.

Coen retained his place alongside Burke the one-point semi-final defeat to Tipperary – Galway’s last defeat in championship hurling. They’ve been mainstays of the Tribe midfield ever since.

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Coen’s defensive nose means he’ll typically pick up the danger man in midfield, like he did by tracking Tony Kelly against the Banner. Coen will likely be handed man-marking duties on Cian Lynch, giving Burke the freedom to drive forward and add to Galway’s scoring threat.

Off the field, Coen and Burke are also close. They went to secondary school together in Loughrea and both studied in UL for four years. After finishing college, Coen (a metalwork teacher) and Burke (a woodwork teacher) returned to St Brigid’s in Loughrea to take up teaching positions.

Johnny Coen in action against Clare

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Their classrooms are even located across the hall from one another. The pair are currently enjoying their summer holidays, but during the school term they sometimes discuss gameplans or upcoming opponents.

“I’d be always telling Johnny in school, ‘If we win midfield at all we’ve a great chance of winning the game,’” says Burke.

“And if you’re getting on a lot of ball there, you’re setting up a lot of attacks as opposed to them. So it’s simple when you look at it like that.”

They’ll face their most formidable test yet against Limerick’s duo of Lynch and Darragh O’Donovan in the Croke Park trenches.

“Cian Lynch is a big playmaker for them and any good plays they’ve had all year, he’s been in the centre of it. And Darragh Donovan has been working really hard.

“They’ve been playing pretty well and a lot of the comeback they got the last day was down to them winning a lot of dirty ball near the end.

“They’re good hurlers and I think the way they’re playing, they’re playing a deep half-forward line, the half-back line sitting, it’s suiting the two lads they have there and Cian Lynch can attack from deep positions. It’s something that we’ll have to look at…”

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Galway arrived into the final 12 months ago seeking a first Liam MacCarthy crown in 29 years and looking to end a run of six defeats at the All-Ireland final stage. Limerick have lost the last five deciders they’ve been to and are 45 years without the big prize.

“It’s such a long time, it’s hard to know what’s the best way to (approach) it,” says Burke.

“The worst thing was just dealing with people you’d meet. Talking to them at work, or your own family, and the expectation that was probably on them and being so excited and hoping that it was done. You kind of have to deal with it in a certain way, and really just focus on the game in hand.

“I know it’s a cliché but that is the only way around it, and the rest is a sideshow for them. Obviously afterwards you enjoy it with everyone, but beforehand you have to have just one mind with the rest of the team that ‘Look, this is my job, I’ve to go out and execute it and get it done.’”

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

It’s been suggested in some quarters that Galway are under less pressure than their opponents, given they’ve already ended the long wait for All-Ireland success.

“There’s always pressure definitely on every game,” argues Burke. “And we’re the worst, ourselves, for putting pressure on ourselves going into any game.

“Players just want to get better, naturally, but look Galway people are still hungry for more success and this team is hungry for more as well. Look, that’s the way we’ll be approaching it, another game, and another game that we really want to win.”

The appointment of James Owens as the final referee received plenty of attention in the wake of James McGrath’s subsequent retirement from inter-county duty, but how will Owens ref the game?

“It’s hard to know,” says Burke. “If you compare the game we had the last day and the first day (against Clare) they were two completely different games.

“Probably defences were a lot more on top the last day, 2-13 to 1-17 compared to the high-scoring first game. Every game is different with refereeing as well.

“Look, at the high level, there’s pressure on everyone to perform – especially referees, they’re going to be looked at and there’s pressure on them as well. It’s a big day and we’ll focus on our own job and let James and the linesmen focus on theirs as well.”

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CORK LEGEND SEÁN Óg Ó hAilpín is confident his county will revive their challenge for the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2019, but he feels that the All-Ireland semi-final stage has become a ‘graveyard round’ for the Rebels.

Seán Óg Ó hAilpín.

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

The Munster champions crashed out at the final-four stage for the second consecutive season after an extra-time thriller against Limerick in which they coughed up a six-point lead in the closing stages of normal time.

The three-time All-Ireland winner believes that Cork would have prevailed in that tie had it been in the Munster championship, and he’s trying to figure out why the penultimate stage of the All-Ireland competition is proving difficult for them.

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“As good as I’ve followed Cork teams and had been involved with some good teams, we’ve never beaten the teams in Munster like Cork have this year to retain it.

What kind of disappoints me more is if that semi-final game was down in Thurles against Limerick under the Munster Championship guise, they would have hammered Limerick.

Ó hAilpín’s gaze darts from left to right at the mention of the defeat as he sits in a Croke Park at the launch of the 2018 Croke Park Charity Challenge.

Despite hanging up the number seven jersey when he announced his inter-county retirement in 2012, he still feels the pain of a Cork defeat as acutely as ever.

Cork hurling manager John Meyler.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

The rebel blood still runs in his veins but he knows they will rise again next year.

“I don’t have the answers, I’m still trying to work it out that you have that same team, same players, and when they get here in a semi-final and the mettle is put to them, you just don’t see the same team from a month before in the Munster Championship.

They need to work more on that, because it seems to be the graveyard round for Cork. Getting to semi-finals is no issue now, winning semi-finals was up to a certain point no issue, Jesus Cork teams when they got here, if they got a sniff of whatever, they were going for it.

“Having said that, I would back this Cork group of players to come back. There was an element last year when Waterford beat us [in the semi-final] that come the 70 minutes people knew the game was over.

“This one really hurt, I’d imagine it did because basically it was there in the grass. As a player there was no harm in bottling that hurt over winter and going through. With a thought like that, you start to realise what an extra five per cent means after defeats like that.”

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

The younger players are impressing during this year’s championship with players like Limerick’s Cian Lynch excelling in midfield despite not being long out of the U21 grade. Similarly, Galway’s Conor Whelan has quickly established himself as a marquee forward at the age of just 21 after making his senior championship debut in 2015.

He will compete in his third All-Ireland final this weekend and looks to be in a strong position to collect a second All-Star award later this year.

Ó hAilpín has noticed a shift in how hurling is played which has lead to teams becoming more populated with younger talent.

“I think the focus has switched from physicality. From experience, physicality contested the stuff back then.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

“If you were 23 or 24 you were only breaking onto the team, you had to sit on the bench to serve your time and make way for the likes of Jim Cashman and all these fella’s that had been there. That seemed to be the way back then.

Now the game has switched, it’s all about speed now. I’d imagine with that in mind, a lot of people are going for younger type players with a bit of speed.

“Because most coaches will realise now that if you get a fast guy in, he can do more damage to you than having a stationary guy under dropping ball that’ll pull all day.”

Former Cork hurler and footballer Seán Óg Ó hAilpín was speaking at the launch of the highly anticipated 2018 Croke Park Charity Challenge, organised by Alan Kerins in partnership with Self Help Africa.

The event will see people from the world of business,sport, media and entertainment partake in a charity sporting spectacle on the 23rd October to raise funds for Self Help Africa.

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FORMER GALWAY DUAL star Alan Kerins was confident that Micheál Donoghue would be a successful manager with the hurlers after working alongside him at club level in Clarinbridge.

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

Donoghue is on the cusp of guiding Galway to a second consecutive Liam MacCarthy Cup this Sunday after helping them to end a 29-year drought last year.

And Kerins is not surprised to see him thriving at the helm.

The pair won a Galway county title together in 2001 with Donoghue as captain before he went on to assume the manager position in Clarinbridge and guide them to All-Ireland success in 2011 while Kerins was still playing.

Kerins saw influential qualities in him at that stage that would be of benefit to him at inter-county management level, having experienced the kind of belief he instilled in that successful Clarinbridge team.

“He always had a great sense of leadership about him,” says Kerins.

“He was quiet but when he said something you listened he had that presence in the dressing room. He stopped playing then he had a back injury and he took us over then in 2009 and we won the county in 2010 and All Ireland final in 2011 so he was really good, great man manager and can make tough decisions when he has too.

We were flittering around for ten years and he transferred us into coming out of nowhere to win an All Ireland title and we were at the end of our careers a lot of us.”

“He got us to believe in ourselves and got the older players to demand more of ourselves set higher standards and not to accept mediocrity.

Kerins celebrates Clarinbridge’s 2011 All-Ireland success with Micheál Donoghue.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“He brought a great team around him in Noel Burke and Tom Helebert and we never had injuries we had just 16 of a panel and he emphasised good quality backroom staff if we had one injury that year it might not have gone our way.

“He would meet us regularly individually and made you believe in yourself and he demanded that we set standards as players and that the other guys around us lived up to those standards as well.”

Kerins finished his Galway dual career with an All-Ireland football title to his credit after the Tribesmen defeated Meath in the 2001 decider.

Kerins in action in the 2001 All-Ireland hurling final against Tipperary.

Source: INPHO

But he was unable to complete the double after suffering defeats in the 2001 and 2005 All-Ireland SHC finals as Galway failed to bridge the gap on the successes of the 1987 and 1988 teams.

Looking on at the current Galway outfit however, he can see how Donoghue has helped players develop and mature as they seek to secure more All-Ireland glory this weekend when they take on Limerick.

“I knew that he would successful when he went in because of my experience with him he was a phenomenal manager and a lot of the players have really come on under his wing, Gearóid McInerney Joseph Cooney they are real leaders and all the forwards have stepped up too with Joe and their S&C with Lucasz [Kirszenstein] they are at a different level than they were.

They are so big and strong and they can move and they can hurl are they are cohesive it is all about the collective there is no individualism its a collective on and off the field.

“He is a big believer in that and once they are all on the same hymn sheet anything is possible.

“The back room team is the same they are all really good guys, Damien Joyce, Franny Forde, Noel Larkin really good people as well as excellent at what they do and they are all human beings at the end of the day so how you get on has a big bearing on things.

“They really cultivate that team spirt and you can see that when the shit hit the fan they responded well and the fight for each other and play for each other there is no one taking dat shots the right man in the right place gets it.”

Former Galway dual star Alan Kerins was speaking at the launch of the highly anticipated 2018 Croke Park Charity Challenge, which he is organising in partnership with Self Help Africa.

The event will see people from the world of business,sport, media and entertainment partake in a charity sporting spectacle on the 23rd October to raise funds for Self Help Africa.

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A CONTRAST IN hurling seasons.

David Reidy has spent 2017 and 2018 working under two Limerick figures that battled as players in the 90s to end the county’s Liam MacCarthy Cup barren spell.

David Reidy is back in the Limerick hurling ranks.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

This year it has been with John Kiely in Limerick, the twist lies in that last year it was with Joe Quaid in Kildare.

Having operated on the fringes of the Limerick team for a couple of seasons, the plug was pulled at the start of the 2017 campaign.

“John rang me and said I wasn’t in the plans for 2017 and Joe Quaid is a Limerick man managing Kildare. I’m living and working in Kildare so he rang me to see would I come in for a trial or whatever.

“So I spent a couple of weeks in there, I was thoroughly enjoying it, so I kept going.”

He teaches in Rathcoffey in north Kildare and immersed himself in their county scene when the chance arose.

“I didn’t have any knowledge of Kildare hurling really, but there was a good few Limerick lads in there. Adrian O’Sullivan was the strength and conditioning coach and trainer inside there from Ahane as well.

“There was a good Limerick influence. It was a thoroughly enjoyable year and I have nothing, but good things to say about Kildare people in Kildare hurling.

“The effort is brilliant, no more so than it is down here. Maybe they don’t get the recognition they deserve. Kildare won the Christy Ring this year so hopefully they will be promoted. I was delighted for them, they put in a lot of effort, they got a good few lads back this year so that was excellent to see.”

Kildare players celebrate their Christy Ring Cup final victory this year.

Source: Tommy Grealy/INPHO

His form prompted a recall. When Kiely was assembling his squad for the 2018 season, Reidy, a 2016 Fitzgibbon Cup winner with Mary Immaculate College, was recruited.

“I can remember exactly where I was (when he rang), I can’t remember the date, (it was) in October sometime. He just wanted me to come back in for a trial.

“There was a panel of about 40 there and I didn’t hesitate to say yes, it was exactly what I wanted. Thankfully it worked out and it has been a very enjoyable year so far.

“I came into it surprised, but maybe it was the kick I kind of needed to get myself back into where I should be and to work on things I needed to work on, be it hurling wise or maybe mentality wise as well.

“So getting back in with Limerick was always the plan, thankfully it worked out.”

It’s five years since Reidy was first ushered into a Limerick senior squad. His maiden summer opened like a dream as he was present when the county delivered Munster hurling glory for the first time in 17 years.

“My first year was 2013, the year we won the Munster. I was only a garsún. That was a great experience. A couple of lads brought me along the way, Gavin O’Mahony and Paudie O’Brien from Kilmallock were brilliant to me.

“I was only a young fella, I thought there would be more days like this when we won the Munster in 2013. I thought it was all glory days.”

He’s seen the flipside of hurling since then.

David Reidy in action for Limerick against Galway in 2014.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“The following years were tough, but I always knew there was a good bunch of hurlers there. Maybe things, I just can’t put my finger on it, but the influence of the young fellas has brought a carefree attitude.

“Their togetherness and unity, and the skill level and obviously the confidence that comes from winning U21s is maybe the influence we needed in the senior ranks.

“Difficult days, yeah. It has been a long road to get here, especially this year commuting and travelling up and down from Kildare to training was tough.

“When you are in an All-Ireland final them days seem like a long time ago and you are happy to be there.”

The Limerick squad is ferociously competitive, chances of game time must be seized when they arise. Reidy came on in that semi-final epic against Cork and did his bit, chipping in with an extra-time point.

For a player hailing from Dromin-Athlacca, a club in south Limerick hard against the Cork border, it was a sweet success.

David Reidy celebrates Limerick’s All-Ireland semi-final victory with Tom Condon.

“I tried to keep away from it as much as possible, there was a good build up at home before. I tried to keep the head down, to stay away from it as much as I could.

“Nickie (Quaid) went to school in Charleville as well, I went to the CBS. A good lot of my friends would be from the north Cork area – Ballyhea, Newtown, and Charleville so there was a good buzz.”

– Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Ballyea as being part of the North Cork area, that should be Ballyhea.

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A SERIES SEEKING to determine Ireland’s greatest sportsperson is among the sporting highlights for the new season on RTÉ.

‘Ireland’s Greatest Sportsperson,’ presented by Des Cahill and Evanne Ní Chuilinn, will aim to identify the country’s top athlete from the 1960s to the 2000s, with a similar format expected to last year’s programme, ‘Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moment’.

In addition, ’1982: Prayers of the Faithful’ is described in the broadcaster’s release as “the story of when the most unfancied team to ever win an All-Ireland football title – Offaly – beat a Kerry team considered to be the greatest in GAA history. A team that came from nowhere to upset the odds when Seamus Darby scored the most famous goal in GAA history to send shockwaves through Irish sport.”

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And on the morning of the All-Ireland hurling final, ‘The Dressing Room’ will serve as a preview of the big match live from the Croke Park Hotel.

Jacqui Hurley and Darren Frehill have been announced as the programme’s presenters, with panellists John Mullane, Shane McGrath, Tomas Mulcahy and Anthony Daly joining them.

‘Philly McMahon – The Hardest Hit,’ featuring the accomplished Dublin footballer, is described as a show that “explores the underbelly of illicit drug use in Ireland and makes the case for decriminalisation in Ireland”.

Once again, Darragh Maloney will present The RTÉ Sport Awards, while the following events have also been confirmed to be shown.

• Guinness Series – Irish men’s Rugby team take on Argentina, New Zealand and the USA at the Aviva Stadium in November
• Women’s 6 Nations, begins February
• The All-Ireland Hurling Final, August 19
• The All-Ireland Camogie Final, August 26
• The All-Ireland Football Final, September 2
• The Republic of Ireland’s UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers from March 2019
• UEFA Champions League Live moves to Tuesday nights
• FAI Cup Finals Day, November 4
• World Rowing Championships from Bulgaria (9-16 September)
• Christmas Racing from Leopardstown (26-29 December)

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THE ROAD TO hurling stardom was mapped out in advance for some.

On Sunday they will be at the heart of Limerick’s drive to address that 45-year gap since the county grasped the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

But back the years when they first filed through the doors of Ardscoil Rís to commence their second-level education life, their ability as hurlers shone instantly.

“When Shane Dowling came into the school, he was just after winning the All-Ireland Féile skills competition,” recalls Derek Larkin.

“Just an incredible hurler. Then Declan (Hannon) could just do great things with the ball.

“We’ve a primary schools blitz every September between Limerick and Clare schools. It’s kind of unique as you’re going to come up against schools that you wouldn’t normally play.

“We’re 11 or 12 years doing that now and the first player of the tournament that we had was Cian Lynch with Patrickswell. You could see him from 6th class, just phenomenal.

“It’s not surprising. They’ve been winning at schools level and U21 level. I think a lot of people are surprised it’s come so quickly at senior.

“But there’s a fearlessness about them isn’t there?”

There are 11 past pupils at core of the current Limerick playing effort. Mike Casey, Hannon, Lynch and Aaron Gillane started in that extra-time epic against Cork. Dowling, Peter Casey and William O’Donoghue came on as subs.

Peter Casey in action in the 2016 Croke Cup final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Barry Hennessy and Kevin Downes were in reserve that day. David Dempsey and Barry O’Connell are part of the extended squad pushing hard for inclusion. Throw in the coach Paul Kinnerk and selector Brian Geary, and the Ardscoil Rís hurling narrative is intertwined with this Limerick 2018 journey.

They started to make waves in the schools hurling arena over a decade ago with familiar names leading the way.

“The first team we kind of made a breakthrough with was in 2006 we got to the Dean Ryan final,” says Larkin, a teacher in the school for over 25 years.

“That was a team would have had Barry Hennessy, Nicky O’Connell from Clare, Darach Honan, Conor Allis that would have hurled with Limerick. Kevin (Downes) would have hurled then and Tom O’Brien.

“Then Declan captained our team that won the Dean Ryan, our first ever ‘A’ title in 2009. He won a first Harty Cup then in 2010, himself and Shane co-captained the Harty team that won in 2011.

“I still remember those games in 2010, the three when we beat Thurles in the final. I remember every puck of them. Downes was extraordinary. Shane went from centre-forward to centre-back. Hannon went into the forward line for a while. You’d pick those guys out way back then from a mile away.”

The inter-county roles are not just restricted to Limerick. Situated on the North Circular Road in the city, they are close to the border with Banner country. There has always been a steady Clare influx.

Past students Jamie Shanahan and Ian Galvin nearly helped propel them past Galway recently. Cathal McInerney would have been involved this season but for injury while Darach Honan, Conor Ryan and O’Connell were celebrated as Clare triumphed in 2013.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

Then there are the current links. Clare defender Paul Flanagan and coach Liam Cronin are both teaching in Árdscoil. Diarmuid Ryan, the figure of brilliance on the school’s Harty Cup winning side in February, had a couple of run outs with the Clare senior team earlier this year.

A dream All-Ireland final pairing nearly emerged but for Galway standing firm in Thurles.

“Had Clare gone through it would have been a dream final in many ways and on the other side you’d be looking at one team losing and the disappointment there,” says Larkin.

“There’d have been great craic obviously if both of them got through but there’d have also been this fear of losing, neither team would want to lose the other. That said it’s definitely a match I would have looked forward to.”

Larkin is a native of Tullamore, his work life seeing him immersed in Limerick hurling and living in Quin exposes him to Clare hurling.

Derek Larkin speaks to Ardscoil Rís players.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“When I looked at Offaly in the 90s, the school teams, you had Birr Community School winning an All-Ireland, Banagher Vocational School getting to an All-Ireland final. They had three minor titles won and the senior titles came out of that.

“If you take other than the Ardscoil lads, you have Tom Morrissey, Barry Nash, Richie English, (Darragh) O’Donovan, they all played Harty Cup with other schools. Doon got to a final, we beat them one year. Castletroy were beaten in a semi-final another year. Those schools have all made progress and it’s exposed lads to an intensity of game and training.

“That’s not the reason Limerick are in an All-Ireland final but to me Limerick have all their ducks in a row. They’ve a brilliant underage setup, development squads, the colleges are doing very well, the club scene with Na Piarsaigh and Kilmallock reaching All-Ireland finals. Those guys they’ve won so much coming up all along.”

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Ardscoil’s first Harty Cup crown arrived in 2010 in their maiden final appearance. They added titles in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018, yet to lose a decider in Munster. Talented hurlers have come through the system, Ardscoil a part that have contributed to the health of the sport in Limerick.

Kevin Downes in action for Ardscoil Rís in 2010.

Source: Cathal Noonan

If they are viewed as a school that relentlessly produces talented players, then it is due to the work of several.

“Liam Cronin, Niall Crowe, Niall Moran, Victor Leyden, Cormac O’Donovan, Paul Flanagan, Orlaith Reidy and Fergal Lyons have all done huge work. This year’s Harty team had Damien Gillane (Aaron’s father) and Barry Hennessy.

“Barry has come back to us now for the last three or four years, working with Harty Cup teams. Totally on his own bat. He’s a sales rep, does a bit of strength and conditioning coaching as well. He’s been invaluable.

“We wouldn’t have won anything without that kind of expertise and help coming in. We’ve an enthusiastic and hard working group of staff members. We’re trying to put out as many teams as possible in the various age groups.

“But it wouldn’t be possible without them or the help of the clubs. We’re literally working off one pitch. We’re very lucky, Na Piarsaigh are always very helpful, Patrickswell, Meelick in Clare, all very generous.”

Niall Moran celebrates after a Dr Harty Cup final victory.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

In Larkin’s eyes, this all started with one man. Liam Kennedy passed away in April 2017 after an illness. A native of Cloughjordan in Tipperary, he taught in the school and laid a hurling platform. His son Padraic was between the posts when Na Piarsaigh won the All-Ireland club title in 2016 and lost narrowly in the final replay last March.

“I started in the school 25 years ago and Liam Kennedy, he drove the thing on, there would be no hurling in Ardscoil without him,” says Larkin.

“A teacher in the school, very involved with Na Piarsaigh for underage for donkeys years as well. Just a great way about him. He was in the school, retired a couple of years ago, unfortunately passed away last year after illness.”

Hurling may have risen in status but it co-exists with rugby rather than overshadow it. This is the alma mater of Paul O’Connell, Sean Cronin and Dave Kilcoyne, evidence of a rich tradition.

Munster rugby legend Paul O’Connell.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

“I would’ve taught Paul up to junior level,” recalls Larkin.

“Paul can put his hand to anything, no fear of him. A gentleman. We certainly encourage lads to play as much sport as possible up to Junior Cert and then after that they make a choice. At the level we’re trying to promote it within a school, it’s not possible to play both beyond that.

“Conor Fitzgerald played a minor All-Ireland with Limerick (in 2014), brilliant hurler, has a Harty Cup medal. A very good forward for us. Conor is an exceptional rugby player.

“His brother Stephen actually played both with us. Played Harty, he was unlucky now, it was the year Nenagh beat us in a replay of a semi-final. He played wing-back. He’s a Munster contract, Conor has a Munster contract.

“There has been a few down through the years that have played both. At the end of the day, if a fella is excelling at one, you’re not going to stand in his way.”

Stephen Fitzgerald in action for Munster against Ulster.

Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland

They’ve thrived in Munster hurling circles but the All-Ireland series has been a tougher nut to crack. St Kieran’s are the benchmark, the aristocrats that have beaten Ardscoil Rís teams after each of their Harty Cup triumphs, including three All-Ireland final successes.

After those setbacks at the hands of Kilkenny teams, the tide has turned of late. Last September, Limerick won the All-Ireland U21 crown against Kilkenny with Lynch, Gillane and Casey playing, along with others past pupils Ronan Lynch, Thomas Grimes and Conor Boylan. That was the precursor for that landmark senior championship win for a Limerick outfit over Kilkenny in July.

And now they are a game away from the ultimate prize in hurling.

In 2013 the school brought back the Clare All-Ireland winners and Limerick Munster winners for a celebration of the hurling achievement of their former students, Marty Morrissey the MC for a novel event.

Kevin Downes, Shane Dowling, Alan Dempsey, Niall Moran and Declan Hannon with the Munster hurling trophy in 2013.

Paul Kinnerk, Darach Honan, Conor Ryan, Nickey O’Connell and Cathal McInerney with the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2013.

A Limerick win on Sunday would be a feat of a different scale.

“All those guys on the Limerick panel, we’ve dragged out of them so much since they’ve left school,” says Larkin.

“You bring them back for medal presentations or help out with the blitz. They come in, sign autographs, talk to younger teams, even take the odd session here or there.

“They’ve been great role models, no different to what Paul O’Connell is. There’s none of those guys that you would hear anyone say a bad word about.

“Sport adds to it in a school. It gives you a different relationship with them, I suppose we’ve got to know those guys way more than we could possibly do just as a teacher.

“If Limerick pull it off, there’s no doubt about it, we’ll have all the lads in the school as soon as we can. There’ll be great excitement. To see Declan going up the steps of the Hogan Stand would be fairytale stuff. I’ve a great affiliation with all of those lads but the lads who made the breakthrough for us first – Dowling, Downes, Hannon and these guys – they set the mark for everybody.

“We lifted the roof off the place in 2013 when we’d the Clare lads and the Limerick lads in. The place would go mental if Limerick won the All-Ireland. It would be incredible, a dream come true. Just brilliant for them.”

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IT HAS BEEN a momentous few months in the life of Cork scoring machine, Orla Cotter.

On 26 May, she got married to Mark and the couple embarked on a dream honeymoon, taking in Canada and then Alaska, mixing it with bears, elk and moose, revelling in the breath-taking scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Tongass National Forest.

At the end of July, Cotter turned 30, or ‘hit a new decade’ as she describes it with a chuckle.

This may mark a new phase in her life but as of now, very little is changing. Cotter and her new husband were back on Irish turf on Wednesday. She was training with Cork on Thursday. The winner of six All-Irelands and five All-Stars helped the Rebels reach another Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final and doesn’t envisage drawing the curtain down on her 13-season career just yet.

“You know it’s going to come to an end at some stage” muses Cotter. “I suppose as long as the body is okay, you’re enjoying it, you’ll keep tipping away for a while.

“I’d hate to leave because of injury is the only thing. I’d prefer to leave on my own terms but we’ll see. Obviously, there’s only a few more years left in it so we’ll take it year by year and we’ll see what happens.”

It is unusual for inter-county camogie players to have their nuptials during the summer but the St Catherine’s star, renowned as one of the most selfless operators around, decided to put herself first for once.

“We looked at that but this was the only time we could go away for a decent length of time after. At Christmas, we’d just about get two weeks so we said we’d go. We headed to Canada and did a cruise around Alaska then. It was class.

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“You only, hopefully, get married once so we just said we’d do it. I’ve three months off every summer and I’ve never gone away so I just said we’d do it this summer and luckily it’s worked out. I was away for the first game against Wexford. I came back the Wednesday before the Dublin game and knew obviously I wouldn’t be playing for that but I’ve been back into it since then.”

Cork have been racking up eye-watering tallies through the group stages, completing the five games with 15 goals and 100 points. A total of 15 individuals have contributed to that tally, which works out at an average of 3-20 a game. That depth is why Cotter herself has not been assured of a starting place since her return.

“We worked a lot on attacking play but also on defending. Every session we’re trying to improve something from the last session. They’re great at motivating us in that way, (hurling coach) Kevin Murray and Mazzer (S & C coach Martin O’Brien), to get us to improve our standards.

“Throughout the championship, (manager) Paudie (Murray)’s been trying a few different things. We have a lot of players and there’s going to be a lot of competition for places. We’ve plenty of forwards that can come in and get on the scoresheet easily. Likewise, there’s competition in the back as well. Hopefully trying things out, we’ll have different options.

“Everyone goes out to play their best but it doesn’t always work out and it’s great to have people to call on that know the job and know what to do. Throughout the championship, loads of people got loads of game time so it shouldn’t be a big surprise if they’re called upon.”

The heroine of last September’s All-Ireland success, Julia White has re-established herself as a regular having endured a horrific number of injuries. White is joint leading goalscorer in the championship with four goals (a tally she shares with Tipperary’s Cáit Devane). Though a rival for a spot in the front eight, Cotter is pleased for the former skipper.

“It’s fantastic. I’m delighted for Julia. She puts a lot of time and work into it and has had a terrible few years with all the injuries, especially that Achilles injury she had a few years ago. I’m delighted for her to get back. She brings an awful lot of work rate, energy and she has great passion for it as well so it’s great to have her around the place.”

In action in last year’s All-Ireland final.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

The aforementioned Kevin Murray has been name-checked regularly by the players for the quality of his coaching.

In a recent interview in the Irish Examiner, Gemma O’Connor explained how her long-distance equaliser on the hour that preceded White’s injury-time winner in last year’s All-Ireland Final, was the result of the work the former All-Ireland-winning hurler had done with the team. It was Cotter who provided the last, accurate stick pass.

“It’s something Kevin has definitely brought to her play. If it’s not on, you keep possession, you don’t just get rid of it, you recycle it. The shot might open up for someone else and that day we were lucky it was Gemma – it was a monster of a point and only Gemma O’Connor would score it.

“It’s definitely something we’re trying to do, use possession carefully, make use of the ball rather than just get rid of it for the sake of it.”

Tipperary are familiar opposition. When Cotter came into the panel first in 2006, it was Tipp and Cork who were the superpowers of camogie. Indeed she claimed her first All-Ireland medal in that debut season, at the expense of the Premiers, coming on as a second-half sub for Angela Walsh.

“I remember anytime we ever played Tipp, I remember the likes of Philly Fogarty, Claire Grogan, Eimear McDonnell – they’d unbelievable talent. There was always fierce rivalry between Cork and Tipp and you never knew what way it was gonna go. Everything was left out on the field in those days.”

And tomorrow’s opponents?

“Tipp had a good win over Waterford in the quarter-final. We met them three or four times already this year between the League, Munster Championship and the round-robin, so we know each other fairly well.

“There’s always traditionally been a good rivalry between Cork and Tipp and the All-Ireland semi-final will be no different. Tipp will on their home patch in Thurles and they’ll have plenty of support. And they have some very good quality players in Cáit Devane, Orla O’Dwyer and Mary Ryan. They’re not lacking in experience at all and they’ll be out to win. It’s not every year you get to a semi so when you do you want to make the most of it.

“For us, it’s the first game this year where if you lose, you’re out. It’s the part of the season you want to be playing in. You wanna be there or thereabouts at this time of year and we’re delighted that we are. We’re not looking beyond Tipp. We can’t.”

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EQUALITY OF MEN and women in sport is something that’s been discussed to no end for as long as I can remember.

That gap between the two, the differences, the inequality more than anything. I do think it is getting better though, there is much more parity than before.

I can only speak from my own experiences but with the Cork senior ladies footballers, we are treated very equally to the boys. We get food after training, we’re kitted out from top to bottom in training gear, and other things from facilities to physios — we have the best on offer too.

It’s the same with Cork City. We’re merged with the men so it’s very equal. Likewise we have all the same gear, we look the same as them going to matches, use the same facilities and resources and what not.

I do feel that it’s getting so much better than before and there’s only bigger and better things to come as well.

When I started out there weren’t even girls teams at underage level. The difference a few years brings. For instance, two weeks ago we were down in Fermoy doing Cork LGFA camps. Orla Farmer runs it — a Gaelic football summer camp for girls, the interest is unbelievable.

There were 220 kids there from the age of six or seven to the age of 15. It was absolutely fantastic to see such interest and such a great set-up. It brought me back to when I was that age, when there would only be a handful of girls and the rest consisted of boys. It’s great to see how it has developed for the girls.

Of course there has been a good few reasons why girls’ sport has become more popular over the years; the facilities in clubs and media coverage, especially TG4 who show the games live. Girls have proven over the last couple of years that they can achieve as much as the boys. Rena Buckley is a prime example.

Look at Ireland at the Hockey World Cup. No one gave them a chance and they brought home a silver medal, what an achievement. The amount of trophies and medals girls are winning at the moment and the feats they are achieving are incredible. Last year’s All-Ireland ladies football finals and that 46,286 attendance in Croke Park — the biggest attendance ever in Europe at a women’s sporting event.

It’s crazy for an amateur sport to have that, it’s so cool though and amazing that we’re all involved.

Cork weren’t there on the day last year but the journey to hopefully play in Croke Park on 16 September 2018 has been going to plan so far this time around. That said, we have one massive, massive step left in playing Donegal in the semi-final.

We’ve trained so hard for so long and met all of our championship aims and goals to date. Obviously we took every game as it came, but each hurdle has been difficult to clear. There have been some big score differences but no game has been easy by any means.

Every side we’ve met has been good, each game has been tough and we’ve gone to the very last minute trying to put scores on the board. We want to show everyone what we’re about: we’re here to do everything we can to get into an All-Ireland final, to win it, and that we’re well able for that.

Donegal is going to be a huge test, we’re well aware of that. It’s going to be a great game involving two good sides. But I think if we do play to our potential, no one will stop us.

To play in Croke Park — I’ve never done it, it’s well up on the bucket list! — and hopefully get a win there is the dream. But we won’t get carried away yet, there’s a huge amount still to be done.

We’ll keep training away as we have been — both as a team and as individuals — and I’ll continue to work on the balance between Gaelic and soccer.

This is my last column for The42. I really enjoyed the experience and I would like to thank everyone who read them over the last 12 weeks and I hope that some of the experiences, insights and training plans I’ve shared have been of interest.

And to finish — I hope the next time I’m on The42 it’s an interview after winning the All-Ireland final!

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CORK LEGEND BRIEGE Corkery has ended an exile of almost two years to return to the champions’ panel for tomorrow’s Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final with Tipperary at Semple Stadium.

Corkery hasn’t played for the Rebels since the 2016 All-Ireland final defeat to Kilkenny and last donned the red jersey when the Leesiders made it six-in-a-row in the ladies football championship.

The Cloughduv dynamo stepped away in 2017 as a six-time All-Star and former Player of the Year, stating that she was no longer enjoying inter-county duties, but never announced her retirement.

The 31-year-old continued to line out for her club until becoming pregnant and she and her husband Diarmuid Scannell celebrated the birth of their son Tadhg in April.

Corkery quickly regained her fitness after returning to club action but her inclusion as number 25 on the Cork team list comes as a major surprise.

A joint Sportswoman of the Year with Rena Buckley, Corkery now has the opportunity to rejoin her great friend as the most successful All-Ireland winner in Gaelic Games history.

Buckley moved ahead when garnering her 18th medal as captain when Cork won the All-Ireland camogie title last September and announced her retirement this year.

That decider was the first time Corkery had not shared the glory with Buckley, as together they had previously garnered six camogie and 11 ladies football championship crowns.

Other notable selections on the Cork team are the positioning of Gemma O’Connor at centre-back, having spent a lot of the summer around midfield, and Pamela Mackey in the full-back line, possibly with a view to picking up the Championship’s leading scorer, Cáit Devane.

Six-time All-Ireland winner and five-time All-Star Orla Cotter, who missed the start of the Championship after getting married and going on her honeymoon, has been named on the bench.

📢 TEAM NEWS: Huge news as Cork legend and 6-time All-Ireland winner Briege Corkery returns to intercounty Camogie as she's named on the @CorkCamogie bench for tomorrow's @LibertyIRL All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Finals showdown with @camogietipp #GoTogether pic.twitter.com/EhnrRUnSdp

— Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) August 17, 2018

There are no real surprises as Tipp boss Bill Mullaney sticks with the team that started their hard-fought quarter-final victory over Waterford, though Sarah Fryday must have been pushing hard for a berth in the attack.

Kilkenny play Galway in the opening semi-final and the selection of former captain Anna Farrell at full-forward by Ann Downey is eye-catching.

While the Thomastown athlete would represent a real challenge for Galway skipper Sarah Dervan if retained at the edge of the square, it would not surprise anyone were she to drop deeper and allow her sister Meighan, who has been named at midfield, fall back towards centre-back.

This in turn would enable Anne Dalton to adopt the sweeper role she has excelled at since 2016, both in terms of cutting off supply to opposition forwards and delivering quality to her own.

Cathal Murray has made one change in personnel to the Galway team that defeated Dublin by 16 points in the quarter-final, with Róísín Black coming in at right half-back for Emer Helebert.

GALWAY (v Kilkenny): Sarah Healy, Shauna Healy, S Dervan, T Kenny, R Black, H Cooney, L Ryan, A M Starr, N Kilkenny, A Donohue, C Cormican, N McGrath, C Dolan, A O’Reilly, N Coen. Subs: S Burke, E Helebert, R Hennelly, F Keely, C Walsh, C Murphy, S McGrath, N Hanniffy, L Freaney, M Skehill, A Lynskey, O McGrath, L Burke, N Horan, C Daly.

KILKENNY (v Galway): E Kavanagh, C Dormer, C Foley, G Walsh, C Phelan, A Dalton, D Tobin, D Gaule, M Farrell, S Farrell, K Power, J Malone, M Walsh, A Farrell, M Quilty. Subs: J Frisby, M Teehan, J Clifford, A Doyle, D Morrissey, R Phelan, E Keane, G O’Donnell, N Deely, K Doyle.

CORK (v Tipperary): A Murray, L O’Sullivan, L Treacy, P Mackey, L Coppinger, G O’Connor, C Sigerson, J White, A Thompson, A O’Connor, O Cronin, L Collins, K Mackey, N McCarthy, H Looney. Subs: A Lee, A Sheehan, L Homan, S Hutchinson, L Hayes, S McCarthy, N O’Callaghan, O Cotter, S Beausang, B Corkery.

TIPPERARY (v Cork): C Bourke, J A Bourke, G Grace, C Quirke, C Mullaney, K Kennedy, Mary Ryan, L Loughnan, E Fryday, Ciarda Maher, Caoimhe Maher, O O’Dwyer, G O’Brien, C Devane, R Cahill. Subs: S Quigley, S Fryday, E Loughman, C Walsh, Megan Ryan, M Campion, J Kelly, A McGrath, E McDonnell, C Hennessy.

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