Kiely salutes the efforts of the Na Piarsaigh contingent en route to Cork

The way the Na Piarsaigh returned players rolled up their sleeves and The patience displayed to return to the team illustrates all that is good with the Limerick panel this year, according to manager John Kiely.

Back Mike Casey was the only finalist of the 2018 All-Ireland club who debuted in Limerick's brilliant victory from 0-27 to 1-22 on Kilkenny in the quarter-final of Ireland at Semple Stadium

. Peter Casey, Shane Dowling and William O & Donoghue were introduced after the 59th minute and contributed three points to each other while Limerick advanced.

They take Cork to Croke Park in their first All-Ireland semifinal since 2014 on Sunday, and Kiely says the Na Piarsaigh players have had a big influence since their return in March.

"We were left in a position where they had an All-Ireland to argue, first and foremost, their loyalty to their club.Club, college, county, it's the hierarchy when there are challenges where there is a clash, "said Kiely.

" We kept the lines of communication open between us and themselves and kept pointing with them and vice versa.

"All of these guys played a lot with Limerick anyway, so when they came back, it was just a matter of getting to work, that's the bottom line."

"It took a while to get to know where our guys are and they have to come in and compete, there was no one to distribute jerseys to the guys who were coming back after being with their club for so long.

"They had to come back and grab their crust, but I would compliment them and the efforts they've put in since they've come back.

"They did everything possible to try to choose as much as they missed in terms of physical preparation and in terms of team preparation and you could see it against Kilkenny. [19659004] "The three guys who came came from Na Piarsaigh and they made a very nice contribution to the efforts of the team at this point, so it's now behind us."

Limerick n & # 39; It has not beaten Cork in KO The league match since 2001. And when the two teams met this summer at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the match ended on a Limerick of 14 players.

Limerick has Sent Aaron Gillane on this occasion before Kyle Hayes rescues them with a late niveleur.And Kiely says that there will be no obsession around their opponents this week.

Most teams are now at this level, they are very aware of the opposition and there ab a lot of information. in terms of tracking all the teams we play, "said Kiely.

" It's a routine that we probably operate a balance of 90-10, 90pc on ourselves but still an awareness of it. Opposition and some considerations about their strengths and perhaps potential areas that we would like to attack, that's all. 19659004] "It's ultimately about ourselves.In the end, if we do not get that right, what we could do about the opposition is unimportant

"I have been involved with teams along the line and you are obsessed with the opposition and you are cutting your eyes and the next thing you will discover the biggest problem is that you have a problem. was not the opposition, you were there.

"So we learned from our mistakes along the way."

Irish Independent