Eamonn Sweeney: Limerick's poster of boys' epic summer hurling



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  Limerick's Aaron Gillane kicks off when Cork goaltender Anthony Nash rushes. Gillane was the outstanding striker of the semifinal, finishing with five points of play. Photo by Ramsey Cardy / Sportsfile
Limerick's Aaron Gillane kicks in goalkeeper Anthony Nash. Gillane was the outstanding striker of the semifinal, finishing with five points of play. Photo by Ramsey Cardy / Sportsfile
  • Eamonn Sweeney: Limerick's epic boys summer poster

    Independent.ie

    Limerick are the charming prince of this year's fairy tale hurling championship. You can not help but fall in love with them. They embody perfectly the freewheeling, adventurous, rollercoaster spirit of the most exciting championship ever played.

    https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/eamonn-sweeney-limerick-the-poster-boys-of-whites- epic-summer-37166155.html

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Limerick are the Prince Charming of this year's fairytale throwing championship. You can not help but fall in love with them. They embody perfectly the freewheeling, adventurous, rollercoaster spirit of the most exciting championship ever played.

Sometimes teams seem to have the strength of destiny behind them. Like Clare in 1995 and Wexford a year later. Limerick is the same type of outfit, often neglected, sometimes besieged but still convinced to find a way. They licked and continued ticking.

It was evident in March when they led Galway 1-13 to 0-4 after 28 minutes of play in their Division 1B promotion decision and social media were inundated with variations. for this famous and promising Limerick team. "At the final whistle, Limerick won by two points and came back to the top

You can almost hear a collective grinding of Shannonside's gnashs when there's a push." ​​In their first game of the Munster championship, they followed Tipperary ten minutes from the end, but jumped to six points, and on their way to Cork, they ran out of 45 minutes and snatched a draw with a point from Kyle Hayes.

The collapse Cusack Park vs. Clare propelled them into quarterfinals in Kilkenny where they found themselves at two points Five minutes remain against big hurling farmers Yet Limerick finished better and two points of injury won

All the previous perils seemed minor in comparison when John Kiely's team had six points in advance with six minutes to play yesterday.They cleared the gap without even scoring a goal.

Aaron Gillan e, author of a release period, put a point in advance. Then, Pat Horgan free leveling with seconds remaining meant 20 extra minutes, punishing.

Still, the extra time was not the tense affair that it had been on Saturday. Limerick looked like winners even before the goals of Shane Dowling and Pat Ryan ended the match. Kilkenny was again hurt, the opposition being simply overwhelmed by an unstoppable green wave.

The rallies of the last two matches would have been remarkable by any team. But it's amazing to see Limerick do that sort of thing. This is, after all, a county whose launchers have been specializing for decades in the seduction and disappointment of their fans. Over the past 77 years, an All-Ireland is a shabby choice for a county with so much talent and tradition.

Cold blood pressure has never really been a feature of Limerick. But this is not your father's Limerick – Limerick edition 2018 have the traditional Kilkenny freshness, Cork's trustworthiness and Tipperary's steel.

The magnificent Gillane may be their iconic character. He could have had three goals yesterday, but an imprecise finish, and a tendency to lose his throw, meant that the peak striker was coming back with just two points from those opportunities. Something similar happened against Kilkenny when Limerick's lack of pity in front of the goal allowed Eoin Murphy to keep the game alive.

Still, more importantly, Gillane was the outstanding striker of the semifinal with five points behind. a dozen frees, not all easy, and constantly winning the ball in dangerous positions. His three goal opportunities were largely self-created. In her first year of under 21, the Patrickswell star has already become one of the best hurling attackers.

Limerick is like Gillane. They are not perfect, the raw, coltish quality that you expect from one of the youngest teams to reach an All-Ireland final is sometimes obvious. But the disadvantages of youth are more than offset by its benefits. When Gillane or Gearóid Hegarty or Cian Lynch miss an opportunity, they do not linger. They just come back and make another try

That 's how Limerick evolved throughout the year. The failure does not bother them, it just pushes them to try to do better next time. There is a freedom of play, a refreshing willingness to take risks that makes them irresistible in flight. Intrepidity is the key.

Such is the youth of Limerick who, just 25 Shane Dowling seems almost a figure of another generation. Four years ago he was one of the most promising young men of hurling, but he was overshadowed by the Tyros of All-Ireland victorious 21 and 20 in 2015 and 2017. [19659004YesterdayheleftthebenchAmiraculouslaterallywhichpocketsthreepointsbeforesettingasidethecrucialpenaltyofovertimewiththeconfidenceofamanwhobelieveshistimeandthatofLimerickhavearrived

Comprehensive

Cork has to wait a little longer. Three times in five years, they won Munster titles and were discovered in the All-Ireland semifinals. This defeat has not been as complete as those inflicted by Tipperary and Waterford, but it is more disappointing.

The title of Munster last year was a welcome surprise and anything that could have been further would have been a bonus. This time, the rebels felt that it was their year and that tired members late on Limerick seemed more motivated. Maybe it's understandable.

There was talk in advance of Cork being inflamed by the disappointment of recent years. But the difference between Cork's disappointment and Limerick's is the difference between hunger and famine.

Cork could still have won when Seamus Harnedy scored three minutes before the stroke time. Nickie Quaid knows what Limerick had to endure as a member of the big clan of county guardians.

He threw the ball to kick Harnedy with the speed of Zorro carving his initials on the jaw of a rival. Quaid has enough. They all

It was not a rebel song. It was a wonderful bloody Sunday for Limerick.

Indo Sport

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