Limerick No Longer What Might Have Been

By: Enda McEvoy

The Game, RTE’s gorgeous three-part documentary on the history and development of hurling, received plaudits from all quarters when it concluded last Monday night. Well, maybe not quite (itals) all (close itals) quarters.
From Shannonside there emerged a low-key but unmistakeable chorus of disapproval. “Not enough Limerick in it,” went the complaints on social media.
On the one hand you could see the complainants’ point. Limerick are inarguably a leading hurling county – there’s all too few of them, alas – and have been since time immemorial. On the other hand…

Quick teaser. How many All Irelands have Limerick won since the end of World War Two?
Answer: one.
Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? The county of Mick Mackey and Pat Hartigan and Eamonn Cregan and Ciaran Carey and Gary Kirby. Last All Ireland in 1973, the afternoon the heavens opened and nobody of a green and white persuasion cared in the slightest. Last All Ireland before that in 1940.
Waterford have won two All Irelands since Mackey captained his county to victory in 1940. Clare have won three, Offaly and Galway four apiece, Wexford five. Now you may see why the makers of The Game decided against devoting large chunks of time to the exploits of the men in green.

Granted, Limerick have always been relevant, even when they haven’t been winning. Galway and Offaly only became successful in the 1980s. Clare weren’t mapped in championship terms from 1932 to 1995. Wexford didn’t win an All Ireland between 1968 and 1996 and haven’t won another in the meantime.
It’s that very relevance which actually constitutes the salt in the wound for Limerick folk. They’ve been there or thereabouts for so long. They never disappeared. They could invariably be relied to put it up to Cork and Tipperary in Munster and they never went too long without turning up at Croke Park on the big day
Problem was, every time they’ve turned up in Croke Park on the big day since 1973 they’ve been beaten. In 1974 Kilkenny had their revenge for 12 months earlier; Limerick had trained like lunatics in ‘73 and had nothing left in the tank.

They might have won in 1980 except Galway, chasing a first All Ireland title in 57 years, had destiny on their side. That said, 1980 was a final Limerick could cope with losing. It was merely a defeat whereas 1994, when the house fell down around them, was nothing short of a disaster. A disaster whose ramifications continue to this day.
None of the 56,458 attendance in Croke Park that afternoon will ever forget the finale. With six minutes remaining Tom Ryan’s men, who had dominated from early on, led by 2-13 to 1-11. Johnny Dooley looked like he was about to take his point from a close-range free to bring Offaly to within four points.
Instead Dooley went low and the net billowed. No sooner was the puckout taken than the sliotar was returned to the danger area and Offaly had a second goal. They then began to pick off points from all angles.
Final score: Offaly 3-16 Limerick 2-13. Score in the last six minutes: Offaly 2-5 Limerick 0-0. Shattering stuff.

Let’s pretend, just for the sake of it, that Limerick had held on. What changes? Everything changes.
They’re now an All Ireland winning county again. Do they beat Wexford when the teams meet in 1996? As the champions of only two years previously they’d have fancied their chances and they’d have been entitled to. At the very least we can be certain that this parallel-universe Limerick wouldn’t have performed as tentatively as the real Limerick did on the day.

The 1994 All Ireland final was the day that modern Limerick hurling met a fork in the road and was ushered in the wrong direction. It took the county 11 years after 1996 to reach another final and again they barely raised a gallop. Kilkenny had them dead and buried after ten minutes.
Next Sunday it should be different. A new Limerick, a young Limerick, a Limerick weaned on under-age success. The mishaps of yesteryear? Past tense. Irrelevant. Of no consequence to this bunch.

They can’t rewrite history. But they can write their own history.