Anthony Daly: Legacy is secure but this is a crossroads for Limerick and Kiely

This fella behind me was ripping the players and Brian Lohan apart, so much so that I just couldn’t let it go. “God, it’s only 11 months since we won the All-Ireland and you’re already cutting the backs off Brian and the lads,” I said. “You couldn’t even wait the year.” 

Your man was mortified when he recognised me but I honestly didn’t care. I know I’m not shy to offer my opinion in these pages, but I’d like to think that it is always measured and fair.

And I think that’s why Limerick people should stop and think before shooting their mouths off in the coming months after Limerick’s disappointing exit from the championship on Saturday.

Of course they will be devastated, sick even, that the journey (at least for now) is over. Most of their supporters will be circumspect and incredibly appreciative of the incredible success this team has given the county.

But it’s only inevitable that many will ask the question now of what comes next?

This Limerick team is one of the greatest in the history of the game. Their legacy is secure. There may be many more great days ahead but this was certainly a crossroads moment in the journey of this outfit.

What will John Kiely do now? And Paul Kinnerk? After nine long years, is it time for a change and a new voice? Far be it for me to suggest what they should do but there will be a lot of reflection and introspection after this defeat.

On the other hand, it will also be a chance for John, Paul and the lads to recharge the batteries and just take a well-deserved break.

Limerick could have won Munster but having to go into a quarter-final was another game that they didn’t want, or need. A lot of their players looked short on energy. The freshness they needed after losing to Cork just wasn’t there.

It looked like all the battles in Munster, all those wars they had to wage, finally caught up with Limerick. When was the last time you saw Barry Nash taken off? Kyle Hayes didn’t function like he normally does. It was a surprise to see Declan Hannon coming on centre-back when he was poor there last year in Croke Park against Cork.

Limerick never got to the pitch of the game. As John said, they were always chasing. Their first touch was way off. After Chris Crummey was sent off, it looked like Dublin had the extra man. Was that down to tiredness or complacency?

The whole thing about them so readily agreeing to go to Croke Park – which I fully understood – smacked of it being a dry run ahead of the semi-final. It made sense but that also runs the risk of letting complacency seep in.

Maybe Limerick would have been better off going up to Portlaoise and making a war of it in a tighter pitch. I’m sure now they’re sorry that they didn’t go to O’Moore Park.

When it looked like Limerick might somehow find a way out of the morass late on, it was the young lads like Adam English and Aidan O’Connor burrowing that path.

Was that a sign some of the older lads just weren’t able to do it anymore in Croke Park?

Making this all about Limerick is doing a disservice to Dublin, who were just incredible. Nobody gave them a chance – including me.

The bookies didn’t give them a hope. They were such rank outsiders that it wasn’t worth entertaining a bet, even though the odds were so good.  

What could anyone really point to? Dublin had beaten Offaly and Wexford but made heavy weather of it before getting smacked around by Kilkenny for most of the match, before being well beaten by Galway.

They clearly benefited from the break after the round robin and decided to play with the handbrake off once they returned.  

Dublin were heroic all through but their resistance late on summed up their performance, with lads throwing bodies on the line to stop Limerick shots even reaching the goal, never mind breaching it.

Aaron Gillane will be sick  he didn’t roll his goal chance in under Seán Brennan, but Seán's save was out of this world.

It was a massive moment but everything about this Dublin story was momentous. Conor McHugh is the perfect example.

I always knew he was a brilliant club hurler but Conor was wooed by the footballers before eventually being let go. Nobody had any mind to ask him back with the hurlers until he won an All-Ireland with Na Fianna, in his mid-30s. He was outstanding on Saturday.

He wasn’t the only one. Paddy Smyth had some battle with Gillane. John Bellew made massive plays. Conor Burke and Brian Hayes were outstanding in the middle.

Ronan Hayes stepped up. So did Cian O’Sullivan. John Hetherton caused rack when he came on and got a sensational goal.

There were stages when I thought Dublin were gone too direct and one-dimensional after Hedgo was introduced but the goal he scored and the one he created for Cian O’Sullivan broke open the game and gave the Dubs the confidence to drive on.

There is some credit due to Niall Ó Ceallacháin for plotting this victory because it was celebrated by far more than just the Dubs.

When the final whistle blew in Croke Park, the roof nearly lifted off the stands in the Gaelic Grounds. It might have been ironic with the match on in Limerick but it was understandable when Limerick had administered such torture to every other county over the last decade.

Cork will be hot favourites now but it’s given great hope to every other team. The one team delighted Limerick are gone will be Kilkenny.

I know they were the last team (before Cork last year) to knock them out of the championship and while Kilkenny would have been mad keen for a crack at Kiely’s side, there is still too much mental baggage there from successive All-Ireland final defeats in 2022 and 2023 to have been really confident.

Tipp will be happy that Limerick are out of the equation too and thrilled to get a crack at Kilkenny.

Tipp were impressive but the one concern they’ll have is the trouble Galway caused by running at them – a recurring theme throughout this championship.

Kilkenny are loaded with goalscorers but Tipp will still believe they can go toe-to-toe with Derek Lyng’s outfit. 

They have loads of firepower while their fluency up front, especially early on, showed just how dangerous Tipp can be when they get into their rhythm.

The way they attacked the left flank of the Galway defence early on was a sign of good coaching and smart planning. And Galway could never catch up with Tipp when they hit their straps.

Colm Molloy was Galway’s best forward but it was unrealistic to expect him to carry the load when Mikey Breen had snuffed out Conor Whelan and Brian Concannon wasn’t threatening enough. Kevin Cooney did good things but not enough of them. When Tipp were in control in the second half, Breen just sat back and tried to give the defence more stability closer to goal.

Tipp were just far slicker and more efficient. Willie Connors was excellent. So were Jason Forde and John McGrath. Andrew Ormond got man of the match but I’d have given it to Jake Morris. Galway could never get a handle on him. Jake has always been a brilliant player but he has really matured and added huge leadership to his game this year.

Tipp are shoving up more and going after teams higher up the pitch, which does leave them more open at the back. But they are playing well as a unit and different guys are stepping up on different days.

This is a new and exciting team but John McGrath’s rejuvenation has been heartening. John set the tone from the start with his distribution and scoring ability and his iconic brother Noel had the wherewithal to lift the head and engineer the goal to put the game to bed.

It would have been easy for Noel to stretch the lead out with a point, but he spotted Oisin O’Donoghue in space before floating a beautiful ball into him. Oisin’s finish was brilliant.

It was game over, though really the game was over far earlier. Galway were never at it the way they needed to be. They had loads of chances in the first half and just didn’t take them.

Galway’s shooting from play was desperate in the second half when only scoring four from 18 chances. After they got their first goal, they had four successive shots and missed all four, three similar wides to the right of the goal.

Similar to Limerick, this was probably a crossroads game for Galway and the next part of Micheál Donoghue’s project.

Daithi and David Burke are not the players of old, as you’d expect at this stage of their careers. Neither is Conor Cooney. Galway need new leaders but they need them at the back as much as anywhere else.

Galway and Limerick will spend a long winter reflecting, whereas Tipp and Dublin are now excitedly looking forward to the semi-finals in two weeks.

Tipp will relish a crack at Kilkenny and, while Cork will be raging hot favourites against the Dubs, Dublin are the one team with the pace and athleticism to trouble Cork.

Surely the Dubs can’t do the unthinkable and beat Cork now? After Saturday, who knows what to think anymore?