In any other year, the reigning All-Ireland champions would now be reflecting on a League campaign and fine tuning, as the opening defence of their title looms.
But Limerick didn’t even get to take the Liam MacCarthy Cup with them from Croke Park last December, the players had barely seen each other until training was allowed to resume three weeks ago and it’s only tomorrow evening that they will play their first game as All-Ireland champions against Tipperary.
With all of the trappings that go with winning an All-Ireland removed and an unprecedented period of down-time since the turn of the year, you’d think that it would afford all of those involved ample opportunity to bask in the achievement.
But that wasn’t the case for manager John Kiely, who is the principal of Abbey CBS in Tipperary town.
“When you’re in my job by day, trying to manage a school and you’re told on the sixth of January that the school is going back to online learning again, those opportunities to reflect are zero after that,” says Kiely.
“Because you’re just literally fire-fighting to keep in touch with your teachers, your support staff, your students, you parents, so it’s been a really challenging time in education and people send their kids off to school but when you have hundreds of kids at home trying to be educated through online, for all the families out there, they know what’s involved. People with kids know what was involved.
“For us, it was all-consuming. Even if there was training, I wouldn’t have even been able to engage in it of any description because you’re just totally taken over by the day job in that circumstance.
“So it has been great now to get everybody back into school and get everybody back into their routines again and, you know, hurling has come back on and I’ve really enjoyed the last two weeks and going to training.
“It’s been good for my head as well as enjoying being back with the lads but that type of reflection will possibly only come in years to come and, right now, I’m looking forward to Saturday night.”
There are positives and negatives to missing out on the months-long jamboree that goes with winning an All-Ireland but, all things considered, the likelihood is that it bolsters rather than hinders Limerick’s efforts to become the first team from the county to put All-Irelands back-to-back.
“Previous winners would have all sorts of functions, travel, team holidays, All Star trips, Super 11s, events with their clubs, colleges, work places. Medal presentations. All those distractions that are out there for winners.
“None of that was there this year. When it was over, it was over. That was it. Finito. This year is different to any other previous winning experience.
“For our lads, there’s good and bad in that. For example, I haven’t been able to have the cup in my home place. That hasn’t happened; is not going to probably happen. So that’s a pity. That’s a loss. You couldn’t turn that into a gain.
“Am I sorry that I didn’t have to traipse around the country with it to 2,000 different primary schools and secondary schools and all the rest that goes with it?
“That’s hard. That’s tiring and exhausting. And we didn’t have to go through that. In its own right, that’s a loss as well because those organisations benefit greatly from those experiences and those visits but it does take a lot out of you.
“It’s hard to know what way it will play out, will it all be positive or will there be negatives? I think it’s going to be a mix.”
In all, Limerick made a decent fist of defending their previous All-Ireland in 2018. They won a first League title in 22 years and scored an emphatic victory over Tipperary to reclaim the Munster title before being edged out in controversial circumstances by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.
But there was a streakiness to them that wasn’t as apparent the previous season.
“I think the big thing really if you think back to 2019, take out all the sideshows and the bits that were there, the bottom line is that we weren’t as consistent in 2019 as we were in 2018 and 2020.
“We lost a number of Championship matches in Munster and we ended up eventually losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Kilkenny.
“We had some really great performances but we had some poor performances in there as well. Ultimately, that’s what it came down to.
“We weren’t consistent in 2019. That is why we weren’t successful. Because we were inconsistent. You have to have a consistent high level of performance to be successful – that’s the bottom line.
“If I was to go after something this year, I’d be looking for consistency.”
Kiely says that he is expecting a fiercely competitive Allianz League campaign - despite the fact that his side may not even be afforded the chance to retain their title.
With six teams each in Division 1A and 1B, each county is guaranteed five games and whoever tops each section will be designated to play in the final - though it will only be played if those two counties’ paths cross in the Championship.
Otherwise, the title will be shared.
So, with no knockout stages and the strong possibility of no final, has the 2021 League been reduced to a series of glorified challenge matches, particularly given the competition’s proximity to the Championship?
“I most certainly wouldn’t use the phrase glorified series of challenge games, definitely not,” Kiely insists.
“Every inter-county team that takes to the field, number one, they want to win their match. I can guarantee you that, and where you have every team going out that wants to win their match you’re going to have very, very competitive games.”
He added: “I know we’d like an extra couple of weeks to play out a final series of games to determine the winner but the time wasn’t there and we have to respect the clubs and get the competitions finished on time for the clubs to have a meaningful period of time in August, September and October.”
With the split season model having been fast-tracked as a result of the challenges visited by the Covid-19 pandemic, the unwieldiness of the traditional GAA calendar is underscored all the more for Kiely.
“Listen, when you think back on what we were doing, going back training in November, doing a pre-season in November, December with a pre-season competition, followed by a month in January which was a mix of closing out that pre-season competition, Fitzgibbon Cup, preparations for the National Hurling League, then starting that at the end of January and progressing that till the end of March.
“Taking a month for the club and then going back into the Munster Championship and All-Ireland series and it all finishing at the end of August – that can probably never happen again. That was nuts, like!
“Jesus, that would wear half a stone, it was so long. There was no end to it. And no sooner finished and you had to turn to planning, literally two weeks later. So it was a 365 job. It was round the clock, round the calendar.
“So yeah, split season. Six months. I don’t think any inter-county panel should be back until the 1st of January – the 2nd of January in fact – let them at New Year’s Eve.
“No training on New Year’s Day. Anyone who does organise it should be shot! No training at all in December. Get back in January and drive on from there.
“Trust the players to come back in reasonable shape. And the fellas that don’t, they’ll pay the ultimate price – they won’t be picked.”
